Residential Building Atanasković
Buildings/The residential building occupies the southwest corner of "Leninova" and "Orce Nikolov" streets, diagonally from the well-known Tashkovikj building, in the historic residential neighborhood of Debar Maalo. Its time of construction corresponds with the early formation of the neighborhood itself, and the building stylistically reflects the marks of the contemporary early modern architectural tendencies of that period.
An equal treatment is applied in the aesthetic design of the two street-facing façades (which are the only visible ones). By introducing discreet shallow pilasters ending with stylized Ionic capitals, a vertical grid is created, giving the façades an effect of light and dark color fields. In the recessed darker fields, the windows are positioned, under which secondary plasterwork with an interlaced motif is placed.
The original project for both buildings was designed by Boris Dutov in 1932, but the corner building in its present form is the work of Kirilo Hadži Nakovikj, who reworked the project in 1933 in a modern style.
Architect Kirilo Hadži Naković
Year of design 1933
Collaborators Архитект Рад. Матијашевиќ
Investor / Owner Trpe Jovanović
City / Municipality Skopje
/ Centar
Address Orce Nikolov St. No. 83 A
Floors B+GF+1
Original typology
Current purpose
Protection status protected
- Building chronology (project, construction phases)In 1932, the building was designed. In 1933, the building was constructed. In 1940, General Atanasković bought the building from its original owner and investor (according to the general's granddaughter). In the 1960s, a second floor was added to the original structure. In the 1990s, a wing was added to the western side of the building, with a height of GF+3.Number of floorsB+GF+1Program description (floor plan details)On the ground floor, there is a shop in the corner, while the rest of the ground floor, as well as the upper floor, is used for residential purposes (two apartments, each with two rooms, a hallway, a kitchen, a bathroom, a toilet, and other amenities). The entrance to the house is located at the back of the building.StructureThe building is constructed with a solid structural system. According to the technical description, the building's foundations are made of compacted mixture. The foundation is insulated with two layers of tar paper and one layer of liquid tar. The walls on the ground floor are 45 cm thick, and on the upper floor, they are 30 cm thick, made of well-fired brick in lime mortar. Above the walls of the ground floor and the upper floor, reinforced concrete tie beams are built, as well as reinforced concrete lintels above all openings. The inter-floor and ceiling structures are reinforced concrete. The roof structure is wooden.RoofMulti-pitched roof covered with felt tiles. The roof structure is made of planed pine lumber. Gutters, downpipes, and others are made of galvanized sheet metal no. 18.FaçadeThe façade was plastered in lime mortar, sprinkled with color, and decorated with discreet shallow-relief ornamentation consisting of shallow pilasters ending with stylized Ionic capitals, while beneath the windows, secondary plastic elements with interlace motifs were applied.CarpentryThe entire carpentry is made of good and solid pine wood on the inside, and spruce wood on the outside. The windows are glazed with clear glass and made of wood with horizontal profiling, along with exterior doors leading to the balconies. The frames and sashes are painted in different colors.Interior / Communal spacesCirculation core: reinforced concrete stairs built into the walls with terrazzo finishing; railing – wooden handrail on a metal structure; entrance doors – wooden, painted white with small shallow-carved decoration on the frame.Interior / Private spacesInterior walls are plastered with lime plaster. Wooden flooring (strip parquet) is installed in all rooms, except in the bathrooms and terraces where terrazzo is used.ContextThe building formed an architectural whole with the adjacent smaller structure on "Knez Arsen" street, constructed in an identical style by the same architect and investor (according to the original archival project documentation). Both buildings were located in the then construction area of Debar Maalo, where during the same period and later several representative buildings were erected that are now part of Skopje’s cultural heritage from the interwar period and which survived the catastrophic earthquake. In the façade treatment, identical decorative façade elements can be seen as on the House of Toma Nichota, which is situated diagonally across the street and adjacent to the well-known Taškovik building. The fact that Nichota’s house was commissioned by the same investor, but designed by a different architect supports the thesis that all three houses were designed and built according to the tastes of the client.
- RoofA single-pitched roof covered with galvanized sheet metal.FaçadePlaster in gray color with discreet low-relief decoration. The newly constructed parts from later periods have the same treatment and follow the grid and detailing of the original building, which at first glance gives the impression that the structure has always had its current appearance.CarpentryGround floor – metal doors at the commercial spaces and the main entrance to the residential part; windows – authentic wooden ones (two of which have metal protective grilles installed), windows on the first and second/third floors are wooden, authentic to the construction period; PVC shutters on the third added floor, and PVC insect screens on some of the windows on the first floor.Building surroundingsThe building opens onto a public area paved with concrete blocks.Interior / Communal spacesCirculation core: stairs – terrazzo, wooden handrail on a metal structure, entrance doors to the apartments from the original building – wooden, painted white, with a small low-relief decoration on the frame; entrance doors to the apartments in the extensions from later periods – wooden, but with a different appearance and size.Exterior conditiongoodInterior conditionsatisfactoryExterior authenticitysatisfactoryInterior authenticitysatisfactoryModificationsIn the 1960s, a second floor was added to the original structure, resulting in a change in the building's height and its roof structure (replacing the previous multi-pitched tiled roof with a single-pitched metal roof). In the 1990s, a wing was added to the western side of the building with a height of G+3, altering the original volume of the building as well as its entrance area (originally, the entrance to the building was from its western side, but with the extension, the entrance was relocated to "Orce Nikolov" Street). In the shared stairwell, entrance doors (for the apartments in the extension) were opened on the landings of the mezzanines, directly onto the original western exterior wall. An external entrance to the basement spaces was also constructed, with access from Orce Nikolov Street.
- The greatest threats and risks to the building are the shifting protective and construction policies, as well as the adaptation of legal regulations that do not support its preservation. This results in the daily degradation or loss of valuable structures that testify to Skopje's urban development and provide historical continuity.
- protected Significant cultural heritage with a second-degree protection regime. The contact zone of the building has a third-degree protection regime.
- historical emotional 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.
- Konstantinovski, G. (2001). Builders in Macedonia in the 18th - 19th Century. Skopje: Tabernakul Tomovski, K., & Petkovski, B. (2003). Architecture and Monumental Art in Skopje Between the Two World Wars. Skopje: Museum of the City of Skopje Kocevski, D. (2022). If You Love Skopje – Come, I Will Wait for You on the Waterfront. Skopje: Begemot State Archive of the Republic of North Macedonia, Skopje Department. Arch. No. 6.1.325.24/354-396 Cultural Heritage Protection Office, Registered Immovable Cultural Properties Under the Jurisdiction of National Institutions, November 2024. Retrieved January 2025, from: http://uzkn.gov.mk/mk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/REGISTRIRANO-NEDVIZNO-KULTURNO-NASLEDSTVO-2024-za-web-%D1%84%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB.pdf