The beginnings of modernity in Zagreb's architecture are linked to the planned program of metropolitan development at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The central role in the transformation of the city at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries belongs to the atelier Hönigsberg and Deutsch, the first trained architects in Zagreb and the first to exhibit their works alongside visual artists. Thanks to the young architects, the company promoted a new aesthetic worldview that continues to provide striking accents to the urban image of Zagreb today. The most representative example is Kallina House, built in 1903 – 1904 according to the design by Vjekoslav Bastl (Přibram, 1872 – Zagreb, 1947). After returning to Zagreb from his studies with the founder of the Vienna Secession, Otto Wagner, Bastl designed a series of exceptionally successful corner solutions, transforming the typology of commercial-residential rental buildings into a field of experimentation. Typical Secessionist expression of the intertwining of function and artistic understanding of architecture, the house built for the owner of what was then Croatia's largest ceramics factory, Josip Kallina, is also a powerful visual message in the urban environment. Bastl applied a similar method of designing facades as advertising surfaces on the house for pharmacist Eugen Feller, featuring a bottle of Elsa fluid at a height of two stories (at the corner of Jurišićeva Street and Ban J. Jelačić Square, 1905 – 1906), as well as on the facade of the house with allegorical figures representing the protectors of the medical profession for Doctor Eugen Rado (Ban J. Jelačić Square 5, 1904 – 1905). Like the famous Vienna Majolikahaus by Otto Wagner, the facade of Kallina House is clad in highly glazed ceramic tiles and is characterized by its striking colorfulness. In the rich ornamentation, friezes of tiles featuring motifs of bats, water lilies and red roses with stylized stems dominate. The central visual accent is the rounded corner with lavishly decorated spiderweb railings made of wrought iron and floors of reinforced glass. The highly aesthetic design places Kallina House among the top achievements of contemporary architecture in the Central European region.
The nicknames “Colorful Skyscraper” and “Vitić's Skyscraper” best illustrate the iconic character and popularity of one of the premier achievements of late modernist architecture in Zagreb. Constructed from 1958 to 1962 according to the design of architect Ivan Vitić (Šibenik, 1917 – Zagreb, 1986), the “Colorful Skyscraper” serves as a prime example of residential architecture as well as a reflection on the quality of everyday life. This is a multi-family complex located at the corner of Matko Laginja Street and Konstantin Vojnović Street, situated within an urban fabric of distinct density. The spatial configuration creates a new ambient whole that gives this part of the city a new identity, with ideas about space that are still relevant in today's contemporary neighborhood cultural scene. A hallmark of Vitić's design approach is his equal focus on both architecture and public space, which becomes a venue for social interactions. Instead of a closed block, the residential complex consists of two semi-detached three-story buildings and a solitary ten-story structure that meanders through the space. In this way, the space opens up for a square with a children's playground and a public park. The partially open ground floor is elevated on columns, and instead of hallways, the building features a system of “streets in the air” from which residents access their apartments. A shared rooftop terrace includes a children's pool and sunbathing area. In addition to its urban context, the uniqueness of the complex is based on the refined visual component that permeates and connects all parts of the structure, from the design of the facades to the interiors of the residential units. Thanks to the playful design of the southern facade facing the square, with dynamic compositions that alternate the rhythm of movable wooden brise-soleils and surfaces painted in yellow, green, blue and red – often compared to Mondrian's paintings – this architecture has become an iconic example of modern collective housing.
PhD Jasna Galjer, full professor
at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
