House of Aleksandar Sotirivić
Buildings/The house is positioned as a detached structure within a large yard. It is conceived with a raised ground floor, an upper floor, and an attic space only in one part of the plan. The layout includes a separate service area-kitchen and pantry on the ground floor, laundry room in the basement, and a room on the upper floor. This section has its own external entrance and separate staircase, but is still connected to the main living area. On the side facing the interior of the block, there is a dynamic interplay of volumes, highlighted by the treatment of the staircase core, which is accentuated and rises above the cornice line.
The façade facing outward is more static and representative, with a clear division by floors and symmetry with minor deviations-such as a recessed terrace on one side. In the central part of the raised ground floor, there is a semi-cylindrical volume that also serves as a terrace for the second floor. The central part of the upper floor is accentuated by an eave and a roof parapet with a semicircular window top, further emphasizing the symmetry. Secondary decorative relief appears on the façades.
Architect Vangel Samardžić
Construction year 1937
Investor / Owner Aleksandar Sotirovski - Macedonian comic-artist and illustrator
City / Municipality Bitola
/ Bitola
Address Belgradska St. No. 2
Floors B+GF+1+A
Original typology
Current purpose
Protection status not protected
- Building chronology (project, construction phases)The building was constructed in 1937.Number of floorsB+GF+1+AProgram description (floor plan details)The raised ground floor and upper floor were intended for residential use. The main entrance to the building is on the northern side, where external stairs lead up to the raised ground floor, while the service entrance is located on the eastern side. This section has a separate internal staircase but is connected to the main living area. The basement contains storage rooms and a laundry.StructureThe building is constructed with a massive structural system. The walls of the ground floor and upper floor are made of solid brick with lime mortar. The building has a wooden intermediate floor structure. The roof structure is wooden.RoofThe roof structure is wooden, multi-pitched, and covered with tiles. On the southern side, there is an open terrace.FaçadeThe façade was plastered with cement-lime plaster in a terracotta-ochre color. Shallow decorative relief around the window openings and corners emphasizes the horizontality of the elements. The basement is finished with bush-hammered artificial stone. The entrance stairs are made of artificial marble.CarpentryThe exterior carpentry is wooden. The window openings have a double system and are painted white. They are divided into three sections with a fixed upper transom. All window openings on the raised ground floor have built-in wooden protective shutters.Building surroundingsThe house is freestanding in a yard that is enclosed along the street with a metal fence set on a low concrete wall finished in the same façade treatment.ContextThe building is positioned as a freestanding structure in a relatively large yard, set back from the street frontage line. It is located behind the Bitola Theater, at the corner of "Belgradska" and "St. Cyril and Methodius" streets, on a street where several notable buildings from the same or a similar period can be found.
- RoofThe roof structure is wooden, multi-pitched, and covered with tiles. On the southern side, there is an open terrace.FaçadeThe façade was plastered with cement-lime plaster in a terracotta-ochre color. Shallow decorative relief around the window openings and corners emphasizes the horizontality of the elements. The basement is finished with bush-hammered artificial stone. The entrance stairs are made of artificial marble.CarpentryThe exterior carpentry is wooden. The window openings have a double system and are painted white. They are divided into three sections with a fixed upper transom. All window openings on the raised ground floor have built-in wooden protective shutters.Building surroundingsThe house is freestanding in a yard that is enclosed along the street with a metal fence set on a low concrete wall finished in the same façade treatment.Exterior conditionsatisfactoryExterior authenticitygoodModificationsThe entrance to the house has been additionally partitioned with a wooden divider. It is assumed that the façade has been repainted. There are noticeable deviations from the original design, where no attic space was present, resulting in a different appearance of the staircase volume on the façade. The secondary decorative relief on the façade is also not shown in the original project.
- There are risks of the currently minor damages increasing over time.
- not protected
- architectural and aesthetic authorship The relationship of the house to the different characters of its various façades and the skillful play with volume are notable. Vangel Samardžić is a well-known architect from Bitola. Some of his projects include the design for a new contemporary cultural center after the end of the First World War, the house at Kiril i Metodij St. No. 14, the infrastructural renewal of Shirok Sokak, and others.
- Recommendation to the owners: The value of the building should be respected when installing elements directly on the façades, and if changes are made, they should be aimed at preserving its authenticity.
- https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D1%83%D1%9C%D0%B0_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D1%83%D0%BB._%E2%80%9E%D0%9A%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB_%D0%B8_%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%98%E2%80%9C_%D0%B1%D1%80._14_(%D0%91%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0) https://babambitola.mk/%D1%83%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B5-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4-100-%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BE-%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BB/ https://cineculture.gaussinstitute.org/star-teatar-3d/ Sterjovski, Aleksandar. Buildings. Consulate of the Republic of Serbia in the Republic of Macedonia, 2020