Using elements derived from what marks a place as singular is key to contemporaryplacemaking, understood as a primary objective of the theory of critical regionalism. The needto create humane, remarkably local architecture and to minimize the effects of universal andinternational clichés, in order to avoid the danger of making architecture locally unfounded andto invest it with meaning and a sense of place, certainly poses a challenge for every modernarchitect. This paper deals with the issue of contextuality and approach to the character andurban matrix of a place, as characterizing the buildings in the Western Serbian city of U?icedesigned by architect Mihajlo Timotijevi?. A critical approach is adopted in analyzingTimotijevi?’s architectural plans and buildings constructed in U?ice, in the attempt to show thatthe architect takes a genuine interest in the local topography and that which is calledplacemaking. The main goal of this research is to underline the fact that Timotijevi?’s ability toperceive and read the messages sent by a place, materialize its distinctivness and easilyincorporate a “sense of place? in architectural spaces has given the city of U?ice a new image,by integrating the spirit of the regional with that of the contemporary. The research results areparticularly pertinent to contemporary architectural theory and practice, both in Serbia and theregion, as a comprehensive, multifaceted example of a good practice of critical regionalism.
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