Belgrade : University of Belgrade - Faculty of Architecture
Abstract
As a result of renewal of the Serbian capital after the World War II, a newly built residential
settlement named New Belgrade was erected on the left bank of the river Sava. The most
intensive time of its construction includes the period from 1950 to 1980, when prefabricated
construction systems were omnipresent. As a manner and reflection of that time, diverse design
solutions were applied on residential buildings from New Belgrade in which concrete was the
main façade material. The most widespread finishes were: exposed concrete panels with
different textures and reliefs; coated, i.e. painted concrete panels; concrete panels with ceramic
tiles finishing; combined façades of exposed concrete and brick.
Today, in many cases of New Belgrade residential blocks, there are serious damages of concrete
façades that require extensive repair. At the same time, some of the blocks enjoy the status of
previous protection as cultural monuments. On the other hand, referring to existing buildings, the
question of energy efficiency as one of the imperatives of nowadays building practice implies the
need for additional thermal insulation along the building’s thermal envelope. This type of
intervention is, in most of the cases, applied externally, representing in this way a measure that
might significantly change the original building appearance. In both cases, preservation of
appearance of concrete façades is questionable, which raises the problem of protection of
original appearance of analysed buildings.
This paper strives to present the overview of the applied concrete façades and their present
condition in selected residential blocks from New Belgrade in the light of energy performance of
their facade envelopes in the present state. This review should point out potentials and
limitations for their further improvement having in mind the need for preservation of authenticity
of the analysed buildings
