On 11 March, architect, critic and curator Maroje Mrduljaš will take part in the lecture series with a talk entitled “Unfinished Modernisations: Skopje and Split 3”.  

Maroje will draw on two research projects, the exhibition “Toward a Concrete Utopia” (MoMA, New York, 2018) and the documentary film series Slumbers of Concrete, as he presents two vast urban transformations that took place during the modernisation of socialist Yugoslavia in 1960 and 1970: the reconstruction of Skopje city centre and the large-scale development of homes, Split 3. “In Skopje, Kenzo Tange and Split 3, Braco Mušić and his team of Yugoslavian architects set a benchmark for urban innovation and demonstrated their belief in urban development as a mechanism for social well-being. But both projects were left incomplete. In my talk I will discuss both the original ideas and the shape of these controversial projects today”, he explains.  

At the same time, on 12 March, the Official College of Architects of Catalonia will screen two documentaries from the Slumbers of Concrete series: Socialism Meets Capitalism and Vehicles of Emancipation. Maroje Mrduljaš himself will be present at the screenings, which will take place from 7 p.m. onwards, as well as the directors of Foros 2020, Guillem Carabí and Fredy Massad. Entrance is free until we reach full capacity.

Editor-in-chief of the magazine Oris since 2017, Maroje Mrduljaš has also written and edited books on architecture and design and been published in important international journals such as A + U, Archithese, Bauwelt, db and Domus. 

He has curated and contributed to several international exhibitions at art centres such as MoMA (New York), DAM (Frankfurt), MUO (Zagreb), and the Architecture Biennales in Venice and Kunstlerhaus (Vienna). Since 2014, he has been involved in selecting Croatian contributors for Piran Days of Architecture, and is co-author of two seasons of the documentary series Slumbers of Concrete, aired on Croatian national television.

Maroje acts as an independent expert for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award and is a member of the Expert Committee for the European Prize for Urban Public Space. He is also a lecturer at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Architecture.

Foros, an annual series of lectures about architecture, this year is entitled “Co-benefits”. The aim of Foros 2020 is to reflect on the links and processes of cultural interaction between contemporary architecture and other artistic expressions such as dance, sculpture, cinema and comics.

Language: English

Admission is free