The architectural heritage of any city can inspire the creation of not only historical films, but also fantastic films. If you choose the right angle, even the most ordinary building can be imagined as a den of alien villains. And if these are non-standard structures created in the middle of the last century in the style of brutalism, socialist modernism or socialist realism, then for filming new episodes of Star Wars in Belgrade, for example, additional decorations may not be needed.
1. Aviation Museum (formerly Yugoslav Aviation Museum)
One of the long-term construction of the socialist era eventually brought glory to its creator and still adorns the ancient capital of Serbia, Belgrade. The construction of the futuristic structure began in 1957 and was completed only in 1988. It took another whole year for the expositions to be prepared and the grand opening of the Aviation Museum, which was prudently located next to the Belgrade airport.
Such unusual forms of the building came to the mind of an engineer from Sarajevo - Ivan Strauss, who later received a prestigious award in the field of architecture. In the former Yugoslavia, Borba awarded an award for the best design of a museum complex. Since then, the museum has had a permanent exhibition dedicated to the extraordinary creator. Although more impressive is the collection of real aircraft, numbering about 200 units of aircraft.
2. Military Medical Academy
Thanks to the efforts of highly qualified specialists from the Central Design Institute CUVI (later "Tsentroproekt"), a giant medical complex has appeared, in which it is just right to shoot fantastic films, and not heal people. Nevertheless, the Military Medical Academy, which covers an area of 180 thousand square meters. m, is engaged in its direct duties and is the largest military hospital in the world.
Physicians and scientists from 27 clinics and 17 institutes are still fruitfully working in this futuristic building. The Academy houses the Transplant Center, the Emergency Medicine Center and diagnostic departments, the National Toxicology Center and specialized clinics, in which more than 1,000 people can be accommodated at the same time.
3. Residential tower Karaburma or "House Tobleron"
The total devastation after World War II was the impetus not only for the reconstruction of the cities affected by the bombing, it allowed architects and builders to carry out grandiose experiments. Belgrade was no exception, as it turned into a kind of testing ground for followers of socialist realism and brutalism in architecture. In this field, the project of a residential high-rise "Tower of Karaburma", better known as "House Tobleron", distinguished itself (the reason was the similarity with the famous chocolate bar from Switzerland).
The design of the futuristic object, atypical for European countries, was developed by the architect Rista Sekerinski in 1963. Literally 6 years later, The Toblerone Building saw the whole world. At the time, it was so amazing and unusual that the author of the project received the award for Best Architecture.
4. Genex skyscraper or "Western Gate of Belgrade"
The Western City Gate building, better known as the Genex Tower, is still considered one of the most interesting landmarks in the entire country. The architectural ensemble consists of two 35-storey high-rise buildings connected by a bridge on the upper floors. At the very top of the tower, the design of which is dominated by functional structures and linear forms that were fashionable at that time, there is a circular revolving restaurant with incredible views of the city.
This modernist skyscraper with a "hole in the middle" was built in 1977 by the architect Mikhailo Mitrovic. The Genex Tower, with a height of about 140 meters (including the restaurant), is still the second tallest in Belgrade and the third in Eastern Europe.
5. "Eastern Gate" of Belgrade
The residential complex "Rudo" in the Zvezdara area, better known as the "Eastern Gate" of Belgrade, has become a symbol of socialist utopia. Many considered the 28-story skyscrapers to be gray and ugly structures, although there were also admirers of such rationality and maximum functionality. Thanks to the high-rise buildings built in 1976, many families were able to move into brand new apartments without thinking about symbolism and criticism.
Reference: At the moment, the complex is in a deplorable state. The facade of the buildings is crumbling before our eyes, it requires major repairs with colossal investments - $ 4, 85 million, which neither the residents nor the city budget have.
6. Aval TV tower
The Avala TV tower was built in 1965 and is still the tallest structure (205 m) not only in Serbia, but also in the Balkans. Although in 1999 during the hostilities in Yugoslavia it lost its upper part, it was completely restored in 2010. The main highlight of the building was its design. As it turned out, there are only a few buildings in the world, the base of which is an equilateral triangle.
7. Museum of Contemporary Art
In the place where the Sava and Danube rivers merge into one stream, an unusual structure in the shape of a crystal was built. It was designed by architects I. Antich and I. Raspopovich specifically for the art gallery, which was later renamed the Museum of Contemporary Art. Already in 1965, the first exhibitions of works by Yugoslav masters were opened in a museum with non-standard architectural forms. At the moment, the museum's funds contain 30 thousand exhibits, exhibitions are constantly updated, which present the works of both eminent artists and sculptors, as well as novice creators.
8. The brutal beauty of the architecture of the former Yugoslavia
The canons of architecture of the socialist period of all countries of this camp were based on the vision of the Communist Party of the USSR. Hence the gravitation towards monumentalism, scale, brutalism and constructivism, which began to develop actively in the first decades of Soviet power. Despite the criticism of contemporaries, some architectural masterpieces of that period still excite the imagination with their forms and thoughtful functionality.