Pupin Palace, or how the SNS "urban violence" began in Novi Sad

Novi Sad may become a "great demolition site" if the authorities decide to, as it announces, to demolish SPENS, one of the symbols of the city.

Almost all projects are followed by numerous controversies (about which VOICE will write in more detail soon), from changing the general land use plan to the demolition of cultural goods, to which citizens and the professional public reacted with disapproval, protest gatherings and public appeals, but certainly insufficiently and sporadically.

The SNS’ changing of the architectural appearance of the core of Novi Sad (urban violence, as civil society organizations call it) began more than two years ago, when the construction of a giant new complex – Pupin's Palace – began on the site of the former Communal Bank. The construction of this building involved the demolition of the old bank building, which was protected as a monument of cultural and historical importance.

In addition to the former building of the Communal Bank, which was previously used by Erste Bank, due to the construction of the Palace, a monument to the Armenian family Chenazi was moved, which was the last trace of the former Armenian Church, as well as the cemetery and the entire Armenian community in Novi Sad.

The ever-present Galens

The land on which the monstrously large building called Pupin's Palace, which used to be owned by Erste Bank, is being built a year ago became the private property of Galens Invest. By the way, some sources link this firm to people close to Milorad Dodik, president of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity Republika Srpska, and the top brass of the Serbian Progressive Party SNS. The construction of a building of about 45,000 square meters, worth about 50 million euros, with as many as 13 floors was announced.

Furthermore, in the address to the public of the developers and city authorities, it was pointed out that the conceptual design for this building was made by eminent experts, and that the complex will be a combination of classical and modern.

So far, none of this is visible except for the huge building that fundamentally changes the appearance of the center of Novi Sad.

One of the first reactions to the change in the architectural and urban plan of the city core was an open letter from the Association of Architects of Novi Sad, addressed to the mayor of the city, in which serious objections were made to the problems with this "investment". Primarily, inappropriate square footage for this site, dilettante attitude towards architectural heritage and the absence of an open architectural and urban planning competition, where one would decide in a transparent way on what needs to be built on such an important city location.

– It can already be seen that the building is simply oversized, how the new-old façade of the former Communal Bank is glued to a mountain of glass and concrete, and since Novi Sad is advertised as an attractive tourist destination, every tourist who tries to photograph the City Hall from the Freedom Square will have as a background a picture of "contemporary" Novi Sad – the President of the Association of Architects of Novi Sad Slobodan Jovic told VOICE.

As our interlocutor further explains, Mihajlo Pupin Boulevard is one of the most historically interesting city axes. It clearly shows the paradigm of the historical complexity of our region. Starting from the beginning of the formation of the urban core along the Danube, the buildings of the modernity between the two world wars and the establishment of Novi Sad as the seat of the Banovina, through the modernist and still controversial extension of the boulevard in the socialist period, the demolition of the old urban matrix and religious buildings, the establishment of a new city assembly, the Stoteks building (Bazaar), as a kind of shopping center of socialist arrangement – to the placing of the Main Post office building as a vertical urban benchmark at the end of this axis.

– The so-called Pupin Palace also represents the paradigm of today 's society. In a completely brutal way, it marks an uncontrollable and overt neoliberal order and wealth chasing This is the message we will leave behind for generations – says Jovic.

The Demolition and Return of the "Armenian Monument"

The removed "Armenian monument" on the boulevard was the only Armenian legacy in Novi Sad, because in the early 1960s the Armenian church was demolished due to the construction of a road.

According to the promises of investors, but also from the city authorities, the monument of the Chenazi family will be returned, after the completion of the skyscraper, to more or less the same place where it was previously located. At the beginning of last year, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments told a local portal that the monument was repaired in the conservation workshop Djordjevic in Belgrade and that it is currently in the depot of that workshop.

– The monument will remain there until adequate conditions are created for its installation at the selected location in front of Banka Intesa –the Institute said back then. The monument was declared a cultural asset back in 1997, and the Institute adds that it had been in poor condition for years, and that its reparation involved extensive conservation and restoration works.

A part of the Novi Sad public rebelled against the construction of Pupin's Palace and the destruction of the last bastion of Armenian culture, and several citizens' associations organized a protest and a public reading of Armenian books near the future Pupin Palace.

Vojvodina NGOs issued a statement at the time, pointing to the endangerment of the city center, as well as the shameful demolition of the Communal Bank building and the relocation of the Armenian monument.

The Subsidy and First Tenant

The first tenant of Pupin's Palace could be the German research center Continental, since they announced on their official Facebook page that during 2019 they are moving to "the most attractive business location, in the heart of Novi Sad – Pupin's Palace". Continental came to the forefront after being awarded a state subsidy of 9.5m euros. Representatives of domestic IT companies were against granting subsidies and then told VOICE that the state had put them in a subordinate position.

Random and Unprofessional

One of the representatives was the Green Network of Vojvodina, whose president Olivera Radovanovic told VOICE that urbanism is always a matter of serious politics, and that in a serious state, architectural heritage is considered extremely carefully, because it is the most visible part of the cultural history of a city.

– Through architecture, almost everything about a society is seen and understood. There were a lot of mistakes in the past decades ago. For no apparent reason, the Armenian Church has been demolished. It is true that at that time the pundits reacted with arguments. Admittedly without results, but it has been noted that experts from institutions have said what the professionals should say – she explains.

To the observations of the city authorities and frequent headlines in the media that Novi Sad is now the largest construction city, Olivera replies that she, like all citizens of Novi Sad, see that something is being built everywhere. As he recalls, between the two world wars Novi Sad had an expansion in construction. It was then that the first multi-story buildings for housing and most of the factories were built. The architectural symbols of the city – Banovina and Tanurdzic’s palace – were erected.

– The developers of that time hired the best and most famous architects: Brasovan and Tabakovic. Who are the developers today? Does anyone know who's behind them and where they got their money? How do they build? Randomly, unprofessionally and without a plan – concludes our interlocutor.

When asked in which direction Novi Sad is going in architectural terms, Slobodan Jovic concludes that at this moment we cannot talk about a deliberate development of the city, and that in recent decades the city has become a testing ground for the realization of the particular interests of private investors.

– Although it is completely legitimate to invest and make a profit, in the case of the development of the city it must not be achieved at the expense of the citizens, and the city authorities must not be at the service of exclusively private developers, but above all they must care about the quality of life of citizens – concludes Jovic.

Lea Kotlica (VOICE)