Residential Building of Stojan Spasić
Buildings/The residential building represents a fine example of an asymmetrically designed structure with clean surfaces, built in the spirit of modern rationalism championed by the architect Branislav Protić.
Its volume consists of a rectangular cuboid with a central risalit facing the street frontage, creating a visual vertical division into three unequal segments. The rectangular forms and volumes (windows and balconies) that dominate the risalit and the right segment are contrasted by three oculi on the left vertical axis, which naturally illuminate the staircase space. The oculus motif is repeated on the main entrance door of the building and on the apartment entrance doors, where they also serve as transom windows.
Architect Branislav Protić
Year of design 1936
Investor / Owner Stojan A. Spasić
City / Municipality Skopje
/ Centar
Address Sv. Kliment Ohridski blvd. No. 45
Floors B+GF+2+A
Original typology
Current purpose
Protection status not protected
- Building chronology (project, construction phases)The building was designed in 1936.Number of floorsB+GF+2+AProgram description (floor plan details)The ground floor is designated for commercial use and houses two shops. On the upper floors, there is one apartment per floor, featuring a functional layout and a modern living concept. The stairwell includes a double-flight staircase and is naturally illuminated through the façade oculi.StructureThe building is constructed using a massive structural system with reinforced concrete interfloor structures. According to the original technical description, the walls in the basement and the foundations are made of rammed concrete, while the walls on the ground floor and upper floors are built of baked brick in lime mortar. The roof structure is made of wood.RoofAbove part of the building, the roof structure was made of planed fir timber covered with standing seam tiles, while above the remaining part a flat terrace was constructed. The sheet metal work was executed using galvanized metal sheets.FaçadeThe façade is plastered with extended plaster applied by spraying.CarpentryThe exterior parts of the carpentry were made of pine wood, while the interior parts were made of fir wood. The façade windows were divided into four sections and painted, whereas the oculi in the stairwell were varnished. The oculus motif also appears in the interior carpentry.Building surroundingsThe building’s main façade faces a public space (sidewalk). The level of the main entrance is lower than the street. At the back, there is an unfenced yard with a concrete pathway, parking, and greenery.Interior / Communal spacesCirculation core: stairs executed in terrazzo with a railing of wrought iron and wooden handrail. Entrance doors to the apartments: wooden, painted white, with oculi serving as transom windows.Interior / Private spacesAll interior walls and ceilings are plastered with lime plaster and painted. Floor finish in the apartments: flooring made of tongue-and-groove boards laid over a subfloor of pine wood.ContextThe building is positioned in a row and its main façade follows the street frontage. The neighboring buildings, dating from a later period, were constructed without regard to height alignment and they surpass the building in height. Architect Branislav Protić built another building in the same modernist style two years later along the stretch of the then “Venac Cara Dušana” street (today’s Sv. Kliment Ohridski blvd.).
- RoofA gable roof covered with galvanized sheet metal, and above a smaller part of the building – a flat terrace.FaçadeThe façade is plastered with extended plaster applied by spraying.CarpentryIn the exterior carpentry, almost all windows have been replaced with PVC, except for the oculi and a few windows on the rear façade. The main entrance door of the building is original - wooden, while the carpentry around the doors and shop windows has been replaced with PVC/aluminum.Building surroundingsThe building’s main façade faces a public space (sidewalk). At the back, there is an unfenced yard with a concrete pathway, parking, and greenery.Interior / Communal spacesCirculation core: stairs – terrazzo, wooden handrail on metal construction. Entrance doors to the apartments – only one door is the authentic white wooden door with circular openings/transom. The others have been replaced with doors made of various materials.Exterior conditionpoorInterior conditionsatisfactoryExterior authenticitypoorInterior authenticitysatisfactoryModificationsSeveral changes have been made for which there is no information on when they occurred: -On the street façade, on the third floor, a window has been replaced with one of larger dimensions than the original, featuring different carpentry. The extension was made after 2014. -Spaces have been added in the attic, and part of the flat terrace has been enclosed to form residential areas after 2014. -The roofing material has been changed from ceramic tiles to galvanized sheet metal. -The carpentry of the windows and entrance doors to the apartments has been replaced (individually, without consideration for the building's external appearance). -On the rear façade, one window on the ground floor has been bricked up.
- not protected
- historical architectural and aesthetic
- 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.
- Tomovski, K., & Petkovski, B. (2003). Architecture and Monumental Art in Skopje Between the Two World Wars. Skopje: Museum of the City of Skopje. Konstantinovski, G. (2001). Builders in Macedonia in the 18th - 19th Century. Skopje: Tabernakul. Tokaev, M. (2006). 100 Years of Modern Architecture. Volume Three: The Contribution of Macedonia and Yugoslavia 1918–1990. State Archive of the Republic of North Macedonia, Skopje Department.