Georgi Konstantinovski

Georgi Konstantinovski (born 29 July 1930 in Kraguevac, Serbia) is Macedonian architect, writer and educator.

Graduated from the Faculty of Architecture in Skopje, University "SS Cyril and Methodius" in 1956, he received his Master of Architecture Degree from Yale University in 1965, under the leadership of Paul Rudolph and Serge Chermayeff,in New Haven, USA. His early works are considered as Brutalist. He worked and collaborated with Jo Ming Pei, Henry Cobb, Jr. and Araldo Cossutta in New York. ^[1]

He developed a wide range of design features in his search for an individuality appropriate to the philosophy, structure and art of each building and designed more than 450 architectural and urban projects. He was awarded with the highest Macedonian and Yugoslav architectural awards and with three "Grand Prix" on the Architectural Biennale in Macedonia. He also got the highest National Award for Art "11 Oktomvri" for the best architectural achievement in Skopje. As an educator and writer, he also contributed greatly to contemporary Macedonian architecture. He was a President of the Council for Urban Planning of the city of Skopje, and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture in the same town. ^[1] He is a member of the Architectural Academy of Macedonia.

With the completed Archives, Student's dormitories, the Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering seismology building in Skopje and the Memorial Center "ASNOM" in Pelince, and with his Cultural Center in Razlovci, Konstantinovski is an important contributor to contemporary Macedonian architecture.

At present, he is retired professor form the Design Department of the Architectural Faculty in Skopje.

Early years

Born on 29 July of 1930 in the town of Kraguevac (Serbia), as the third child of his parents, from a father (Hristo) lawyer and a mother (Hristina) a high-school teacher. The mother comes from Stankovic family of musicians, well known in Kraguevac, and his father from the clan Curanovci of village Smilevo, well known revolutionary family during the Ilinden Uprising. After his mother's (1933) and father's (1934) death (his parents have been moving from one town to another as their duties called), he settles in Bitola with his grandparents. He completed primary school in 1941 in the town of Bitola. Suffering from Tropic malaria, he was sent for climate treatment from 1941 to 1946 in the town of Berkovica, (Stara Mountains, Bulgaria). He finished his high-school education by the end of 1946. He was declared (together with another fellow-student, Bojan Nicev, originating from Veles, a Bulgarian literary critic) the best student of the High school „Ivan Panov". From 1946 to 1949 he continued his education at the High school „Goce Delcev" in Bitola. Graduated with excellent scores; he was again declared best student of the school and awarded a special reward by the Ministry of Education of R. Macedonia.

Education and work

In 1949, following the planned program of the Ministry of Education, he enrolled to the Architecture Department of the Technical Faculty in Skopje. In 1953, he worked in seaside residential settlement projects in the town of Haifa, at the Bureau of the Architect Samo Almosnino, Haifa, Israel. In 1953 he worked on kibbutz city planning projects at the Jewish Agency Bureau, Haifa, Israel. In 1956, Georgi Konstantinovski graduated from the Faculty of Architecture with distinctions and got employed at the Bureau of City Planning and Architecture in Skopje, to work on the city planning of town settlements "Zdanec" and "Cair". From 1956 to 57, he did his military service with the engineering army unit in Split, Croatia. In 1958, he became assistant at the Technical Faculty, Skopje - Architecture Department on the subject of "Designing of Residential and Catering Buildings". He started practicing housing architecture in 1969 at the Bureau „Projekat" headed by architect Rajko Tatic, Belgrade. He obtaining his master's degree at Yale University, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, USA in 1964-65 under Paul Rudolph's and Serge Chemaef's mentorship. He worked on administrative buildings project in 1965 at the Bureau of the Architect Jo Ming Pei, New York, USA. From 1995, he was appointed full-time professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Skopje till retirement.

Professional career

1958—95 -From position of assistant to full-time professor of the subject Designing of Residential and Catering Buildings. -Mentor to post-graduate, M.Sc. and Ph.D. - degree obtaining students as well as to several hundreds graduates.

-Head of the Design Institute.

1983 President of the Urbanism Council of the City of Skopje. 1987-88 Dean of the Faculty of Architecture. 1999 Member of the Macedonian Academy of Architecture.

Lectures held

1966 - 67 10 lectures on the greatest architects of the modern world architecture to architects in Skopje. 1977 Modern Architecture in Macedonia at Kolarcev University in Belgrade. 1988 My Architectural Work at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade. 1990 Modern Architecture of Skopje at the International Congress of Architects in Bursa, Turkey. 1991 - 97 Several lectures at the International Congress of Architects in Bursa, Turkey. 1994 New Way of Housing at "Jildiz" University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Publications

1967 - 68 Editor-in-chief of articles on architecture in the daily newspaper " Vecer". 1978 - 80 Participant in the joint scientific piece of work Rational Residential Construction, Faculty of Architecture, Skopje. 1986 XX Century Architecture, „Prosveta", Belgrade, Chapter: Modern Architecture in Macedonia; 2001 Builders in Macedonia VIII-XX century, first volume, "Tabernakul", Skopje; 2003 Builders in Macedonia VIII-XX century, second volume, "Tabernakul", Skopje; 2006 Builders in Macedonia VIII-XX century, third volume, "Tabernakul", Skopje (in printing phase).

Designs

List of significant buildings: 1966 Archive of the City of Skopje, Blvd. "Partizanski Odredi". 1967 Pensioners Recreation Home at Katlanovska Banja. 1969 Students Dormitory "Goce Delcev", Skopje. 1971 Printing House in Pristina, Kosovo (40.000m2). 1972 Town Archive Building of Stip. 1974 Town Archive Building of Ohrid. 1978 Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology "IZIIS", Skopje. 1979 Memorial House of Razlovci Uprising in village Razlovci, near Delcevo. 1983 Strumicko-Povardarska Eparchy, Veles. 1988 Architectural and Urban Concept of the settlement "Jagula", Struga. 1989 Administrative building and two residential blocks (GF+3 stories) at "Marsal Tito" Street, Struga. 1993 Palace "Unija“ at "Ivo Ribar Lola" Street, Skopje. 1994 Administrative-commercial building (Palace "Kuzman“) at "Ivo Ribar Lola" 58 Street, Skopje. 1995 Residential building (GF+ Mezzanine +4 stories +top story) at "29 Noemvri" Street, Skopje (opposite Performance Hall "Univerzalna sala"). 1995 Treatment Home „Sue Raider", Gjorce Petrov, Skopje.

Studies

1986—2003

- Piransa, Pirastela and Piradonija: studies on living in high residential structures, - Studies on low residential structures, - Studies on atrium houses in various geometric forms (circle, triangle, square, polygon, spiral ..) 2006 Residential mega-structure

Competitions

1969 Students' Dormitory "Goce Delcev", Skopje - I prize, 1977 Skopje City Hall - I prize (the only award), 1993 Orthodox Basilica in Strumica - I prize, 1998 Parliament Building in Astana, Kazakhstan - I prize, 2005 Memorial Museum ASNOM, village Pelince, Kumanovo - I prize, - Big number of first-ranked works, as well as many II and III prizes at level of former Yugoslavia.

Awards

1969 Borba plaquette for the Archive of Skopje, 1969 11 Oktomvri National award for the Archive of Skopje, 1972 Borba plaquette for the Students' Dormitory "Goce Delcev", Skopje, 1981 Borba plaquette for the Memorial House of Razlovci Uprising in village Razlovci, near Delcevo, 1981 Grand Award of BIMAS for the Memorial House of Razlovci Uprising in village Razlovci, 1988 Medal of labour with gold wreath, 1995 Grand Reward of BIMAS for the Palace "Unija", Skopje. 1999 Award Andrea Damjanov for lifework, 2005 Grand Award for architecture for the Memorial Museum "ASNOM".

Honorary duties

1965- Guest of the Senator Robert Kennedy and the State Secretary, Mr. McPherson, in Washington on the occasion of the International Students Day in the USA as the only representative of the University in Yale, New Haven, USA. 1991- Declared as the best architect of Yugoslavia at the Third Belgrade Triennial of World Architecture. 1991- Declared as one among the 55 best world architects at the Third Belgrade Triennial World Architecture.

References