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The evolution and progress in the practical and theoretical framework of architecture can never leave out the influence of regregionalist/typologicalrratives in contemporary architecture. This approach is firmly rooted in local vernacular conscience, as well as being a very rational and time-tested concept. For contemporary practice, it has proven to be an inexhaustible resource for inspiration and sustainable building. The discourse has come a long way since its inception after the modernist movement and continues to be relevant due to relentless globalization. Even though regionalism has various wide-ranging manifestations, this paper will be focused on the arguments for an open and positive contemporary approach that embraces in full the advantages of technical and architectural innovations. This type of contemporary regionalist discourse creates structures that inherently are born with character, evoke emotion and connection. The use of regionalist elements is very balanced, strategic, and more abstract than ever before, utilizing the concept of modesty and social responsibility. The practical part of the argument will be presented through two relevant case studies: one from a warm Mediterranean landscape and one from the northern mountainous region that show the advantages of the regionalist/typological approach as well as its progressive theoretical framework. The house in a warmer climate is designed as a series of open, semi-open, and closed spatial sequences, where every single element of space is treated differently, following its function and importance which is an interpretation of traditional layouts for contemporary needs. The house in the north challenges the status quo of contemporariness, by being an extraordinary response to its immediate and wider context through inherently ordinary, modest means, with an instinctive sensibility for the environment. The methodology will show predominantly qualitative, as well as quantitative measurable parameters that combined will uphold the argument of numerous advantages of this approach must be an integral part of the future architectural landscape. Even though regionalist / typological issues arise many times over, now they are becoming a matter much beyond pro-place or contextual narrative, but as a more flexible concept and (pro)reactive in our pursuit for a socially, environmentally responsible building - ultimately ethical quest in architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformation of urban environments is a complex process that should always be an upgrade of urban conditions, linked with socio-economic factors. Such a process demands a participatory, open approach that is not available in most transitional societies and can in some cases lead to a negative gentrification process. The urban tissue discussed in this paper is a part of an industrial city, mostly built-in the modernist style of architecture as well as its urban matrix. It does contain some historic heterogeneous areas that were once important parts of the city center, but its role has been degraded over time. This is not only about a case study, but rather a model for situations that many cities encounter in their quest to revitalize within a similar urban condition. The city of Zenica has a strong industrial/modernist image that shapes the image with all positive aspects (functionality, quality of public spaces, and architecture) and negative (lack of urban continuity form such as „traditional "streetscapes). The questions posed here would be to explore different urban regeneration scenarios and possible interventions within proposals that can range from upholding and enhancing the existing character with more subtle or invasive approaches, or creating a kind of a new hybrid urban and architectural typology that will emphasize all elements of iconic cityscape to the character of the specific site. A set of key parameters is introduced to objectively assess different models presented and assessed through quantitative and qualitative attributes. This approach to urban rehabilitation of mixed (modern and partly historic) transitory urban tissue, must be done with the awareness of the stratification/layers and capacity of a place. Adaptive reuse and constant upgrade of the existing structures is a shift from an architectural makeover into a responsible intervention scenario that serves to improve above all the dwelling conditions and uphold adequate space use. Urban rehabilitation that deals with stratification looks at the city as a living organism - with its hidden substructures that support life and visible manifestation of built tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of modern society is conditioned by the accelerated pace of development of technological awareness. Our urban environment is increasingly exposed to radical transformations, leaving no room for perception and adoption of the new, almost excluding the feeling of belonging to the transformed environment. Such changes, caused by the expansion of construction activity, often violate the ambient and original values, in the transformed environments of "captured" cultural and historical heritage Objects of cultural and historical heritage possess historical, artistic and aesthetic value, readability in all their historical changes and the symbolic value of the tradition of the society to which they belong. Preservation of spiritual, formal and traditional originality, with all the technical characteristics they carry with them, emphasizing the uniqueness and representativeness of heritage in a modern environment, is an imperative in preserving one's own identity. The constructive characteristics of the historical heritage building were dictated by the degree of technical knowledge, experience and intuitiveness of the builders of that time. The specificity of structural systems and construction techniques have a direct impact on the architectural character of buildings, and thus the approach to structural repair, considering the problem exclusively from the point of view of structure and application of modern methods of numerical analysis and technology, can be a cause of disavowal of these buildings.Thus, questions arise: How sovereign are new knowledge and methods over the old, or is it necessary to awaken the intuitiveness of today's builders? How to achieve compatibility of old and new, where necessary? In this paper, the case study of a specific sample of the cultural and historical heritage of Despic House will provide answers to the questions asked. Despic House, where the first theatre in Sarajevo was founded, is one of the few material evidences of life in the city at the turning point of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian periods. Atypical in relation to the local way of building, it is a unique example of a combination of the traditional heritage of the Ottoman period and the " breakthrough of European creativity into the culture of this area". This paper presents a complex research process of establishing the genesis of the Despic House, as well as the consequences of the influence of urban transformations in the spatial framework at the level of the architectural object and the level of the urban-architectural ensemble. On the example of established and implemented measures of structural repair of this building, the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to detailed research and conservation-restoration works for cultural and historical heritage buildings will be confirmed, taking into account its original values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On a plot that was not once, but twice a famous historic restaurant, currently stands a flat, neglected surface unworthy of its former glory days. Cafes and restaurants have always been the essence of social life. Sarajevo has a long history of cafes, dating from the XVI century, the ottoman era. This particular one that will be the subject of research was built with Hotels and Baths in Ilidfa (Sarajevo west entrance), with waters springs and natural sulphuric baths, it became a popular and fashionable place from the XIX century. The restaurant that was built was "Cur Restauration", a hedonistic paradise that complemented the entire area, as a popular tourist destination, mostly for the elite. This restaurant and hotel complex was the place for the Habsburg royals – King Franz I stayed there in 1910, as Bosnia and Herzegovina was a part of the Monarchy. That was the place where the Archduke and successor to throne Franz Ferdinand stayed with his wife Sophia the night before their assassination in Sarajevo that triggered the First world war. The object itself was a romanticized combination of local and alpine region architectural style with elaborate and delicate wooden carvings and details. The structure was classical masonry with wood trusses that were also laced with intricate wood carvings as a part of its architectural expression. In 1966 a new modernist style Restaurant "Kristal" was built on the same spot. Its architecture was an ode to purist modernism, post and beam structural system with large glass-pane windows and cantilevered roof that hovered over a large area, complemented with outdoor terrace, space that floated between interior and exterior. This was an iconic place, from a social and architectural point of view. This structure was destroyed during the war in 1992, and currently it stands empty. This emptiness is an indication that our society at the moment is not able to absorb or evaluate its meaning and importance. We cannot allow a place that was full of life and piece of history be just a faded memory, final layer to be destruction or oblivion. If the site is discussed among professionals and politicians most prefer a facsimile reconstruction of the first restaurant, since the hotel complex still exists. But this approach is simplification and even perhaps a form of decor. This paper will explore how can we articulate this place, is it possible to embody its layers of memory through architectural means? This is a place where memory, heritage and contemporary architecture meet. The answers will be in continuity through function, inclusion, recognition of past, but mostly in creating a structure that will carry the distinction and poetic, seductive features (sometimes overly romanticized notion) of its predecessors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]