First National Scientific and Professional Conference
Good Urban Life: Cultural Landscapes – Memorial Parks
Thursday, 15.05.2025.
→ Memorial park “Kragujevački oktobar“
Museum “21. Oktobar“ Kragujevac
Organization:
University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture
Belgrade International Architecture Week – BINA
Serbian Chamber of Engineers – Regional Center Kragujevac
University of Kragujevac – Faculty of Philology and Applied Arts – Department for Interior Architecture
The Memorial Park „Kragujevački oktobar“
City of Kragujevac
Urbanium – Kragujevac
In 2025, the “Good Urban Life” program will be realized as the First National Scientific and Professional Conference, featuring a special segment of the “BINA walk”. This conference establishes a dynamic dialogue between the scientific community and experts in the fields of architecture and urban planning, cultural and professional associations, citizens, and the general public, with the aim of strengthening the public debate and joint consideration of sustainable urban solutions.
The conference will be held in Kragujevac, in the area of the “Kragujevački oktobar” memorial park, in the “21. Oktobar” Museum, on May 15, 2025
This year marks the fifth year of implementation of the “Good Urban Life” program in Serbia. It originated through international collaboration within the COST RESTORE project and has since been developed in Serbia through the cooperation of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, and BINA, with the support of numerous national and international stakeholders. The program explores key components of contemporary urban life, with the core objective of connecting the parameters, aspects, and actors that make good urban life stimulating, inclusive, meaningful, and healthy. It promotes a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to urban development, with a special focus on balancing the relationship between people, nature, and the built environment.
The focus of the 2025 conference is cultural landscapes. According to the UNESCO definition, “cultural landscapes” are those where human interaction with natural systems has, over a long period, formed a distinctive landscape. These interactions arise from, and cause, cultural values to develop.
The evaluation, restoration, and presentation of the “Kragujevački oktobar” Memorial Park as a cultural landscape, and its integration into the everyday life of citizens, is an important aspect of sustainable development in the city of Kragujevac and the surrounding region.
The “Kragujevački oktobar” Memorial Park is a spatial cultural-historical entity with a special regime of organization and cultural heritage protection, and it forms part of the central city park Šumarice, which covers an area of about 420 hectares. The Memorial Park is an undeniable cultural asset of the Šumadija region, an exceptional potential of the area, and a key factor in its integrated development. It was established in 1953 to commemorate the site where, in October 1941, several thousand civilians aged twelve to sixty-five were executed. The space was designed according to the urban planning solution by architects Mihajlo Mitrović and Radivoje Tomić. With the expansion of the city, the Memorial Park became the central city park, leading to an overlap between its memorial function and recreational, entertainment, and other urban functions, which now require new approaches and responses in contemporary times.
Thematic areas within which the topic of cultural landscapes, and especially memorial parks, will be addresed include:
• Urban design and guidelines for integrating cultural landscapes into the city fabric
• Architectural design and the presentation of cultural, architectural and natural values of cultural landscapes
• Application of technologies and new media within cultural landscapes – innovative practices and areas of use
• Placemaking in cultural landscapes and memorial park spaces – cultivating the Spirit of Place
• Landscapes, nature-based solutions, and biophilic design – human-nature-built environment interactions
• Management of cultural landscapes – development strategies, recommendations, and examples of good practice
• Sustainability and holistic approaches in planning, designing and managing cultural landscapes
Good Urban Life Concept
Jelena Brajković (SRB) i David Calas (AT)
Program and organization:
Dr Jelena Brajković – University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture, Beograd
Dr Lazar Mandić – Serbian Chamber of Engineers Kragujevac, PE Urban Planning – Kragujevac,
Asst. Prof. Natalija Bogdanović – University of Kragujevac – Faculty of Philology and Applied Arts – Department for Interior Architecture
Danica Jovović Prodanović – BINA, Beograd
Scientific Committee of the Conference:
Dr Jelena Brajković, Research Associate, Dr Lazar Mandić, Arch Di Dr David Calas, Prof. Aleksandra Đukić, Prof. Lidija Đokić, Prof. Zoran Đukanović, Assoc. Prof. Marko Nikolić, Assoc. Prof. Jelena Ristić-Trajković, Asst. Prof. Jelena Milošević, Asst. Prof. Jelena Marić, Asst. Prof. Pavle Stamenović, Dr. Jelena Ivanović-Vojvodić, Asst. Prof. Natalija Bogdanović, Prof. Tatjana Kosić, Asst. Prof. Aleksandra Čabarkapa, Dr. Mirjana Ristić Trogrančić, Asst. Prof. Bojana Pašajlić, Dr. Veroljub Trifunović.
Links:
2021 https://bina.rs/en/the-good-urban-life/
2022 https://bina.rs/en/good-urban-life/
2023 https://bina.rs/en/good-urban-life-3/
2024 https://bina.rs/en/good-urban-life-4/
Contact:
GUL_conference@arh.bg.ac.rs
