ANITA VUKOVIC Online Portfolio

S.O.S / Save Our Slava

 

The design proposal of this thesis has explored the following question:

How can the understanding of Serbian tradition and site context inform an architecture that serves the function of faith?

 

The thesis answers this question by attending to three main objectives that drive the design outcome. The first objective of this thesis focuses on the preparation narrative of the ancient Serbian celebration ‘Krsna Slava’ through investigation of Serbia’s cultural and traditional history. The second objective is the restoration of the religious connotations of the Serbian written language, Serbian Cyrillic. The third objective explorers and provides a framework for the author's personal connection to the site and the Serbian identity. The author's personal connection to the site and community aids as a form of a lens, which shows a reflection on the general attitude, of a typical Serbian society.

 

Krsna Slava is an annual Serbian Orthodox Christian celebration, whereby each household commemorates their patron saint, with a long-lasting ritualistic preparation of special food and wine; consecration; and celebration in the home. The Serbian Orthodox calendar comprises more than 70 Slavas and various ceremonial events which engage the whole family, and community, in a series of religious feasts, with traditional rituals and foods. The following research will focus on

The research will initially focus on the historical importance of Slava as a primarily private family affair in the pre-Socialist Serbia, and then address the issues that Slava is facing today, as a result of the dramatic changes now evident in the post-Socialist Serbian society. Recent impacts of contemporary values and lifestyle choices have filtered from a wider Pan-European ideal, the effects of which are now being noted, having significantly altered the once conservative traditions of a rural, partially isolated society. The preservation and redemption of this intangible cultural heritage, recognised by UNESCO since 2014, is the main objective of this thesis.

 

Serbian culture and the Serbian language are a continuous condition with a varied uptake of interest in the church traditions. The second key objective of this research investigates the significance of the revival of the Serbian written language, Serbian Cyrillic. This research explores how written language is a lifeline, a part of the culture and a part of a nation, how writing helps record memories and share stories of the past, and why it is considered a prerequisite dialogue between man and God. The focus of this research is on how the Serbian Cyrillic script preserves Serbian cultural identity by distinguishing itself from similar writing styles. The research observes Vuk Karadzic’s [Father of Serbian Cyrillic] concept of removing obsolete letters, and adding consonant letters, for sounds specific to Serbian phonology as this occurrence cleansed the Serbian language, and further defined Serbian culture. Writing helps us record memories and share stories of the past; current globalisation and media influences are wiping away Serbian Cyrillic as Serbian citizens become more accustomed to writing in the Latin alphabet instead.

 

The Serbian Cyrillic and Slava are two of the most quintessential pieces of Serbian culture, harboured in the Serbian church, which survived not only throughout the great wars of the last century, but also survived more than 40 years of the socialist rule, civil war, and then finally NATO bombing. The Serbian church has always been in the past, and today it is still the ‘cultural theatre’ in which the language, script, and Slava are linked through church culture. In light of this, it is almost ironic that now in a ‘peaceful time’ they are being warped beyond recognition of what they once were. The combined cultural importance of Slava along with the Cyrillic script, have and are one of the last bastions of resistance to pan-European and global cultural and economic forces. Therefore, this thesis aims to restore and rejuvenate the religious link of Serbian Cyrillic to Serbia’s most prominent annual event - Krsna Slava - by proposing a non-traditional and extraordinary architectural framework, which preserves both. 

 

The third aim of this research is to address the chosen site’s recent history by rejuvenating the town that is currently experiencing a cultural and economic decline, and sudden town abandonment.

 

The research explores architectural ideas through the act of hand drawing and making, following the process of the evolution of Serbian Cyrillic. The thesis utilises the construction of the letterforms as a means to create a new and non-traditional architectural language that helps preserve the Krsna Slava tradition alongside its connection with the Serbian Cyrillic, thus preserving Serbian identity. The thesis proposes a collection of buildings that will facilitate the new aspect of shared preparation of food for Slava, in the town of Nemenikuce, in contrast to the traditional process where the Slava preparations take place in multigenerational households. Through this process of taking the preparation aspect of Slava into the public context, the research hopes to assist the celebration of Slava, which has recently expanded into the public realm. The central creative output of this research is a new architectural typology that preserves Slava and the Serbian Cyrillic script through an architectural reading of both. Through extraordinary measures, this work embodies Serbian culture and tradition alongside site-specific history, and recognises Serbian values and mentality. The collection of buildings of the design project promotes a sustainable building complex, not only through literal relationships to food but also with a space providing a safe community environment. 

 

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                                                                                                                  My thesis is also displayed on the MODOS website