The IED Serbia Project is being implemented at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy of the University in Belgrade, which is why the Project Team tries to use every opportunity to include students and their mentors in project activities. This time, with the support of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia, a tour was organised with Mrs. Aleksandra Imširagić-Đurić, Assistant Minister, to the Palace of Serbia, with the professional guidance of Mr. Branislav Mihajlov, curator of the Palace of Serbia art collection and art historian.
A selected group of representatives of the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, the Students Union of this Faculty, the project team, as well as participants of the “Tech Case Study” competition visited the Palace building and its monumental rooms that represent former Yugoslavia Republics – Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Palace was once known by its other name, and even today many call it the building of the Federal Executive Council (Ser. Savezno izvršno veće – SIV). It was ceremonially opened in 1961 on the occasion of the first Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries in Belgrade, i.e., the First Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. The total area of the Palace covers 65 thousand square meters, and in addition to the mentioned six salon halls, it also has three ceremonial halls and 744 offices.
A competition for the design of this magnificent building was announced in 1947, and all citizens of Yugoslavia could submit their solutions, regardless of their level of professional education. Zagreb architect Vladimir Potočnjak and his team won the first prize in the competition, and after his death in 1952, Belgrade architect Mihailo Janković took over the project, giving the final architectural solution a very modern style for the time.
This was witnessed by a group of forty representatives of the Faculty, primarily young people, who silently and attentively observed the artworks of Lubarda, Konjović, Vujaklija, Milosavljević, Andrejević Kun and many other great artists of Yugoslavia. Only about 500 visitors a year get the significant opportunity and honour to visit this museum building, which was officially proclaimed a cultural monument in 2013.
