House of the Association of National Railway Workers and Shipowners in Veles (Officers’ House 1937)

The building was designed in 1938. The building was constructed in 1939.

B+GF+1+A

On the ground floor were the assembly hall, two offices, restrooms, and semi-circular stairs leading to the basement, the upper floor, and the attic. On the upper floor, there were rooms for the members, two kitchens, a dining room, and restrooms. On the northern side, there was a long rectangular balcony with a semi-circular end that partially extended into the western façade. In the attic, there were two rooms for ironing and drying clothes.

The building features a combined massive and skeletal structural system. The foundations and basement walls are made of rubble stone with layers of rammed concrete, while the walls on the ground floor, upper floor, and attic are constructed of bricks. Each floor is interconnected by staircases. The floor structure between the basement and ground floor is reinforced concrete, while the one between the upper floor and attic is wooden (single row). The walls on the ground floor around the assembly hall are non-load-bearing (the load is carried by columns) and therefore can be demolished and altered if necessary for potential adaptations.

The roof structure is wooden. The roofing is made of sheet metal.

There are no details or decorative elements on the façades of the building. The walls are plastered with extended plaster and sprayed in color, while the base is made of terrazzo. The main entrance door is emphasized, with large dimensions and a wide canopy, projecting from the plane of the façade and framed with yellow stone tiles. On the northern side, there was a long rectangular balcony with a semi-circular end that partially extended into the western façade-a detail often found in modernist buildings from that period. The final façade treatment of the house partially deviates from that in the original design.

The exterior woodwork was wooden, with a double window system on the first floor.

The surroundings were designed as a park/garden surrounded by stone walls, with a terrace on the eastern side featuring a pergola, greenery, and trees.

With the development of industrial production and transportation infrastructure in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the number of workers increased, leading to the formation of workers’ unions, associations, and clubs, which created the need for buildings intended for their use. Veles was an important railway center on the line from Belgrade to Thessaloniki, and a large portion of the population worked for the railway. The house was the first of its kind in the territory of Macedonia and was intended to provide recreation, socializing, and the organization of various sections (orchestra, choir, etc.), matinees, and various celebrations and dances for the railway workers.

A single-pitched, concealed sloped roof covered with sheet metal.

There are no details or decorative elements on the façades of the building, except for the newly installed logo and the inscription "Officers’ House 1937," which are repeated on two of the façades. The walls are plastered and sprayed in two colors (the cuboid volume is white, while the horseshoe-shaped volume is in anthracite). The main entrance door is the original one, framed with brown ceramic tiles. The added side extensions are constructed of metal and glass.

What was once the garden of the house is now occupied by extensions that house two hospitality facilities. The building is positioned frontally on the main street, and on the other three sides it is surrounded by a small public park and an area designated for parking at the rear (eastern) side.

In the newly added northern glazed section, a modern restaurant is located. The southern glazed section will be a bar and is currently in the process of interior finishing. In what was once the large hall, one of the original brick walls, which is unplastered, has been preserved. The original floors have been replaced with tiles intended for outdoor use. The area around the stairs has been replastered, and the stair treads themselves have been covered with tiles. The upper floor and the attic were in the process of renovation and adaptation into hotel rooms.

good

good

satisfactory

satisfactory

From its construction until 2020, no significant interventions were made to the building. After many years of controversy regarding the management of the Officers’ House (for a certain period, it belonged to the Ministry of Defense), the Municipality of Veles managed to regain control of the building and, in 2020, signed a public-private partnership agreement with a company through a public tender, in which the company committed to carry out the reconstruction and revitalization of the building within 12 months. After the reconstruction, certain changes were made to the building. On the ground floor, the former conference hall was repurposed as a restaurant, while the office, restrooms, and semi-circular stairs leading to the basement, upper floor, and attic still exist with the same function, but their finishes have been changed. On the upper floor, at the time of inspection, construction work was underway to adapt the space into hotel rooms. The long rectangular balcony on the northern side has been covered and enclosed with a wall and windows. On the main façade, one of the seven existing windows has been completely closed off. In the attic, there are still two rooms, but they now serve a different purpose. On the northern, eastern, and southern sides of the existing building, fully glazed spaces have been added for hospitality purposes.

not protected

historical architectural and aesthetic emotional societal/social

The relevant institutions for the protection of cultural heritage and other decision-makers should take into account the values that the building possesses, recognize it as architectural cultural heritage from the period between the two world wars, and include it in the inventory of valuable buildings.

Todorovski, Z. & Cvetkovska, N. (2007). Veles Between the Two World Wars (1919-1941). Menora, Skopje. State Archive of the Republic of North Macedonia, Veles Department. Arch. no. 9.3.32.26/482-501. Kadijević, A. & Ilijevski, A. (2021). Architecture and Visual Arts in the Yugoslav Context 1918–1941. Belgrade: University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy. Duma.mk. (2020, April 27). Veles – Railway Crossroads Between the Two World Wars. Retrieved February 2025, from https://duma.mk/region/veles-3/28984-2020-04-27-15-26-35/