Historic photograph of the building of the Faculty of Engineering (documentation of Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute)
The building of the Faculty of Engineering in Belgrade was built between 1925 – 31, according to the design of architects, university professors Nikola Nestorović and Branko Tanažević. It is made in style of academism with dominant classicist elements.
Located south-east from the University Library, the building of the Faculty of Engineering is made as an autonomous building, with four facades, built in the same spirit, but solved differently in the way that the focus was on the main facade, facing “Kralja Aleksandra” Boulevard, more simplified facing is applied on lateral facades, and the simplest on the court-yard facade. For its stylistic features, the building of the Faculty of Engineering is completely correspondent with academism schemes, so, together with the building of the University Library creates an ambient complex. By its size and architecture, and by the fact that it represents one of the most significant works of the two famous authors, the building of the Faculty of Engineering is a typical example of the Belgrade architecture between the two wars. After the Second World War, the third floor was built, according to the design of the architect Mihailo Radovanović.
Central bay (photo: S. Negovanović, collaborator of the Institute)
Tympanum with composition of “Architectural technique” (photo: S. Negovanović, collaborator of the Institute)
Sculpture of man with industrial wheel (photo: S. Negovanović, collaborator of the Institute)
Building facades are horizontally divided into zones by robust profiled cornices, and vertically by pillars and circular columns. The most dominant facade emphasis is the central bay with staircase and three-part entrance, which ends with tympanum. All the facades are decoratively ornamented. Sculptures and embossed plastic on the front of the facade are made by academic sculptors Ilija Kolarević and Ivan Lucev, while the ornamental plastic in the artificial stone is made by Bedrih Zeleni. The allegoric sculptures, which represent Sculpture, Electrical Engineering (Physics), Architecture, Industry and Painting, on the attic of the frontage, made of artificial stone, as well as the composition ‘Building Techniques’, placed in the tympanum, with central figure of woman with book and pencil, with two figure on each side, with technical instruments and architectural and building elements, are especially distinguished by their arrangement.
Ceremonial hall (photo: S. Negovanovic, collaborator of the Institute)
Central vestibule (photo: S. Negovanović, collaborator of the Institute)
The base of the main building of the Big Technical School in Charlottenburg, Germany, where the architect Nestorović studied, served the authors as an inspiration for the base of the building. It is possible that Nikola Nestorović, Berlin pupil, was directly inspired by the Building of the Faculty where he studied, but the fact is that this type of school buildings, with similar bases and similar spaces, was typical for almost all school buildings in Central Europe from the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th century.
The building of the Faculty of Engineering represents an architectural-urban value, as an explicit example of academic method in design and one of the most outstanding buildings of the University Complex. At the same time, as the first building built for the purposes of the Faculty of Engineering, it represents the work of cultural historic value.
Literature: Ibrajter-Gazibara B., Arhitektura zgrade Tehničkog Fakulteta u Beogradu, Beograd
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