2020Modern Architecture And Design - Stjepan Planic - First Day Cover

Stjepan Planić (Zagreb, 1900 – Zagreb, 1980) was an architect whose extensive and valuable collection of architectural designs and continuous dedication to promoting humanistic architecture made him one of the key cofounders of Croatian modern architecture. After finishing Public Technical High School in 1920 he worked for Rudolf Lubinski and later for the Ivančić & Wolkenfeld Building Company. On Drago Ibler’s invitation in 1926 he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Arts in Zagreb as a member of the first generation of future architecture graduates. In 1927 he opened his own architectonic studio. As a member of the group of progressive thinkers known as the “Earth” (Zemlja, 1929 – 1935) Planić promoted social awareness in modern architecture. In numerous professional papers he strived to convey his idea of housing culture not only to peers, but to wider audiences as well. Early in his career he edited and co-authored The Problems of Modern Architecture – One Ought to Know. The book consisted of texts by Croatian architects presenting the fundamental postulates of modern architecture. It was published early in 1932 and its introduction features a publication of the founding declaration of the 1928 International Congress of Modern Architects (CIAM). For almost half a century it will remain the only book on modernist architecture in inter-war Croatia. His second book Housing Culture was about to be published not long before he passed away. He envisioned it as a picture book bringing modern architecture and its ideas closer to the youngest audience. The book was posthumously released in 1985. His inclination to individualized expression is noticeable in all of his architectural designs and due to his use of round forms and locally available materials he is often categorised in the organic style of modern architecture.
His was of the opinion that a family house or a villa, however small, is the best type of housing and that its positioning on a piece of property should not be dictated and should be in direct contact with nature. Villa Cuvaj on Zamehof’s Street in Zagreb built in 1937 is the materialization of his ideas and his famous motto - to work and live in gardens. By placing the house on the point of highest elevation he has left plenty of space for a spacious garden toward which the main entrance, downstairs commercial spaces and upstairs living areas are oriented. Even though he used to say that he does not identify with any direction in architecture, he was inspired by the simplicity of traditional Japanese architecture and its organisation of the space, which can be recognised in this particular design as well. The living room is spacious, connected to the dining area, garden and terraces. The separate sleeping area forms a space connected to the bathroom and the wardrobe and the kitchen is small and functional. There are almost no corridors and built-in furniture is used to divide internal spaces. The spaciousness of the living room is complemented by a floor-to-ceiling glass garden wall. The minimum fence height allows a generous view of the garden. In his designs Planić often used natural cladding materials, believing that their textures and colours blend harmoniously with the surrounding nature. In Villa Cuvaj for ground floor cladding he used Sljeme stone and for the first floor he used double-baked yellow bricks. Same as in the majority of his projects, in addition to the villa, he also designed the garden and carefully selected all the plants, garden paths, benches and ornamental ponds and water gardens, making the house and its garden an indivisible whole.