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- 38_ZAGREB_SALON_[architecture|2003]                <<     |     intro
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Foreword
by Saša Randić

In 2003, the term “New Europe” was officially promoted. That event was marked by unusual events of the Iraq crisis, which brought the new world order to (self-)recognition. The so-called transitional countries, guided and tutored by different commissions in the 90-ies, have suddenly become full partners, taken with equal seriousness as the old allies. The unrestrained support to the interests of global capital by the Vilnius Group marked the official end of the transitional period, a year before the official admittance of East-European countries into the EU.
Today, “New Europe” is an area with a completely different social configuration, where ideological concepts have been replaced by commercial catchwords of the post-national corporation-ruled world. In this area, Koolhaas’s “Junk Space” is a welcome sign of the new beginning.

Croatia’s position in relation to this new European reality is specific. Almost identical processes like the ones in other “new democracy” countries have equally changed social and economical conditions.
But on the other hand, the position on the margin of this new configuration, which does not provide final clarity in the question whether Croatia is ahead or 3, 5 or 10 years behind this new Europe, as well as the circumstances of its development from the independence declaration until today, have generated a specific context. A continuous search for an ideal system, with simultaneous erosion of control mechanisms, has brought about a very specific state of latent instability. The paradox of this situation is that the same disorder, favourable for the spreading of illegal building and erosion of city space, is at the same time an obstacle to globalisation tendencies. The best example is maybe Split, marked by spatial transgressions, where not even a strong support from the city authorities was not enough for the realisation of an utterly strange project next to the Diokletian’s Palace.
In such a situation, the social notion of the architect is, compared to other societies, somewhat specific. It is expected from the architects to guard the lost social morality in absence of relevant institutions.
The thesis set up by Peter Eisenman: Junk space is not a concept, we need to do something with it, acquires a very specific meaning in the Croatian environment.

Throughout the years, Zagreb Salon has taken the shape of general exhibition, which in the department devoted to architecture triennially displays works chosen in traditional categories of interior design / project / realisation / city-planning. This year’s exhibition is an attempt at redefining that arrangement and at outlining the problems of the contemporary architectural situation.

The idea of this year’s Salon was to determine whether architects really react to their context with critical detachment and face the new social and economical environment with a clearly formed concept. Does their project contribute to architectural discourse? How does it face its context: is it polemical or manipulated? How does it treat public space? In what way does a project’s strategy anticipate fundamental changes in cultural and social environment?

For that reason, this year’s Salon did not take up its traditional categories. Our intention was to provide an overview of the contemporary Croatian production and identify its main tendencies.
The displayed selection by the official juror of the 38th Zagreb Salon, Stefano Boeri, poses the question whether such specific circumstances of Croatian production may also represent a potential advantage for the development of higher-quality city space. Should Croatian differences from the “New Europe” really be a handicap, or could they be utilised as very favourable instead?
Translated by: Andy Jelčić