House of Osmanli Family

Phase 1 (1931–1938) The building initially emerges as an extension of existing shops oriented toward Širok Sokak, with the addition of a volume on the adjacent small plot. This freestanding structure aligns with the street front through its western façade, while the southern façade is set back, creating a courtyard. A basement and floor are constructed to accommodate a single family’s needs. Phase 2 (1938–1960) To expand the space, the owner decides to add a second floor and a low-height attic. The basement stairs are enclosed to create a small sanitary area. The first-floor terrace is partitioned and extended via a cantilevered addition. A volume is added to the western side. Phase 3 (1960–1973) A new volume with a staircase core is added for independent access to the second floor. Part of the rear courtyard is repurposed into street corridors, and a garage accessible from the same street is built. A prefabricated storage structure appears next to the garage. The concrete courtyard floor is covered with terrazzo. On the second floor, one room and part of the terrace are expanded and enclosed. The attic volume is walled between columns. Prefabricated canopies are added above openings. Phase 4 (1973–2020) The southern courtyard is reduced to accommodate the street profile, transforming into a sidewalk. This brings the southern façade to the street front. Original carpentry is replaced with glass in commercial ground-floor spaces and PVC in residential upper floors. Canopies and AC units are installed above shop entrances. A steel eave is added to the second-floor terrace, and the concrete roof parapet is removed. The southern façade stairs are redesigned into semicircular marble steps. (According to V. Osmanli)

B+GF+2+A

Basement – storage and service for the owners and tenants. Ground floor – originally the owner’s practice, later various commercial uses facing outward. First floor – living, reception. Second floor – originally for living, but as the number of occupants decreased it became inactive. Attic – storage and service, never actively used.

Load-bearing stone walls in the basement, and solid brick walls on the ground floor and upper floor with thicknesses of 43 cm and 33 cm, respectively. Wooden intermediate floor structure. Wooden multi-pitched roof structure. Exclusively wooden staircase cores. The added upper floor and attic are also made of solid brick.

Multi-pitched roof constructed with a wooden substructure and covered with roofing tiles.

The building is finished with plaster. The façades feature shallow relief with decorative details and pronounced ornaments, executed in the spirit of academicism. On the original building from 1931, a closed wooden gallery, fully glazed, is placed on the top floor. On the western side, the modern extension connects to the existing building through the decoration and treatment of the first floor, but features a modern, open balcony and belvedere.

The 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. The exterior carpentry that forms the gallery is exceptional.

Cemented access path, tall and low greenery, wooden pergolas, benches, fountain, cement posts.

The greatest influence on the interior was exerted by the investor himself, inspired by ideas he acquired during his stay in America. The most representative part was the entrance area, with the staircase space and walls finished with textured plaster and oil paint, wooden molding, and a composition of colored fields bordered with a frieze. Wooden stairs with wooden balusters, light bulbs on the railing, and decorative ceramic figures. All wooden elements were carved. The reception salon, whose walls featured an original frieze, was filled with custom-made furniture. The carved display cabinets were stocked with imported porcelain sets and engraved silver cutlery.

The bedrooms and living rooms were also furnished with decorative wooden furniture and various floral and organic friezes on the walls. A feature adopted from local folk tradition was the functional use of space, implemented through storage areas located under the staircases and small, concealed doors leading to them.

Shirok Sokak is the main pedestrian thoroughfare and is recognized as an ambient ensemble with its own distinct characteristics. It has borne eight different names throughout various eras. Most of the buildings date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with eclectic and early modernist influences, including the Osmanli House. These structures contain diverse stylistic elements, making it impossible to classify them into a specific stylistic group. Grigorije Taškovikj worked as a civil servant in Bitola from 1925 to 1932, during which time he had the opportunity to participate in the design of other buildings on Shirok Sokak from that period. Consequently, he strived to respond to the ambiance of the existing structures, while also attempting to implement elements of the still-new modernism. He was educated at the technical department of the Great School in Belgrade.

Multi-pitched roof constructed with a wooden substructure and covered with tiles, flat roof, and terraces covered with corrugated sheet metal and plexiglass.

Gypsum and plaster.

The 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. The exterior carpentry that forms the gallery is exceptional. Part of the carpentry has been replaced with PVC fittings.

Terrazzo concrete paving, greenery, concrete fountain, iron fence.

The floor is made of cement, as are the stairs to the yard, while the stairs to the ground floor are wooden, coated with oil paint. The small windows are wooden, with decorative iron grilles on the outside. The intermediate floor structure is not covered, and the beamwork is visible. The doors of the rooms, stair claddings, and other auxiliary elements are made of wooden planks. The commercial spaces on the ground floor are clad with ceramic tiles. The main entrance has been preserved in its authentic design, with varnished wooden stairs, a profiled handrail and balusters, walls with textured plaster and oil paint, and bordered paint with a wooden dividing molding. On the first floor, the authentic walls with friezes are preserved in the salon and the reception room. The interior doors on the ground floor and first floor are authentic from the building's first phase, made of profiled wood, painted in two colors, but are not an original element, as they are also found in other buildings from the same period. An original element is the wooden-glass partition between the staircase and the salon, composed of repeating panels of profiled wood.

Plastered and painted in a single color. The ceiling is made of plastered wooden boards, except in the bathroom, where there is wooden paneling for ventilation. The floor is mostly covered with parquet in a herringbone pattern, except for the sanitary rooms and terraces, which are covered with ceramic tiles. The floor in the rooms on the second floor is made of wooden planks covered with linoleum; the terraces and bathroom have ceramic tiles, while the hall, in the third phase, is covered with pigmented cement. The ceilings in the rooms are plastered, and in the sanitary rooms and hall there is plastic paneling. Wooden built-in benches appear. The materials in the attic are the same as on the second floor, but of lower quality.

satisfactory

satisfactory

satisfactory

good

Phase 1 (1931–1938) The building initially emerges as an extension of existing shops oriented toward Shirok Sokak, with the addition of a volume on the adjacent small plot. This freestanding structure aligns with the street front through its western façade, while the southern façade is set back, creating a courtyard. A basement and floor are constructed to accommodate a single family’s needs. Phase 2 (1938–1960) To expand the space, the owner decides to add a second floor and a low-height attic. The basement stairs are enclosed to create a small sanitary area. The first-floor terrace is partitioned and extended via a cantilevered addition. A volume is added to the western side. Phase 3 (1960–1973) A new volume with a staircase core is added for independent access to the second floor. Part of the rear courtyard is repurposed into street corridors, and a garage accessible from the same street is built. A prefabricated storage structure appears next to the garage. The concrete courtyard floor is covered with terrazzo. On the second floor, one room and part of the terrace are expanded and enclosed. The attic volume is walled between columns. Prefabricated canopies are added above openings. Phase 4 (1973–2020) The southern courtyard is reduced to accommodate the street profile, transforming into a sidewalk. This brings the southern façade to the street frontage. Original carpentry is replaced with glass in commercial ground-floor spaces and PVC in residential upper floors. Canopies and AC units are installed above shop entrances. A steel eave is added to the second-floor terrace, and the concrete roof parapet is removed. The southern façade stairs are redesigned into semicircular marble steps. (According to V. Osmanli)

Since it is a large building but inhabited by a single family, it is difficult to maintain. The numerous extensions, often with different volumes and materials, contribute to more complicated maintenance and also cause problems such as moisture due to inconsistencies in the roof. The ground floor is always occupied by commercial uses, which prefer large glass surfaces and advertisements that threaten the authentic appearance, but on the other hand, generate profit and thus help maintain the building.

protected The house is protected, according to the referenced master’s thesis.However, precise information and a decision are not available because, on the 2024 list of the PCHO, the buildings on Shirok Sokak are registered under Marshal Tito Street, making it impossible to determine exactly which house is being referred to.

authorship architectural and aesthetic societal/social historical Grigorije Tašković is a well-known architect who designed several buildings in Bitola. Aleksandar Osmanli was a renowned doctor who brought the first X-ray machine to the city, installing it in his practice in this very building. This is the source of the historical, authorial, and social values of this building.

Unification of the interventions that have occurred over time, and general renovation and maintenance.

Osmanli, V. “The Osmanli Family House as a Model for New Evaluation of the Houses on Shirok Sokak Street in Bitola.” Faculty of Architecture, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University (AFS UKIM), 2020. Master’s Thesis. Sterjovski, A. Bitola. Buildings. Consulate of the Republic of Serbia in the Republic of Macedonia, 2020. Grčev, K. Architectural Styles in Secular Urban Construction in Macedonia Between the Two World Wars 1919–1940. UKIM, 2001.