Sarajevo: Architectural Guide: Buildings and Projects Since 1923

Discover the architectural wonders of Sarajevo, a city that bears the vivid scars of its complex history. From hosting the 1984 Winter Olympics to enduring a brutal civil war in the 1990s, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina has woven its tumultuous past into its urban fabric. Today, this modern metropolis harmoniously combines the remnants of Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian influence along with the striking architecture of the Yugoslav socialist era.

In this captivating architectural guide, explore 150 landmarks spanning the last century, carefully divided into four enlightening chapters. Immerse yourself in the city’s rich cultural heritage as the authors effortlessly navigate and bring to life the diverse architectural tapestry of Sarajevo. With detailed maps provided, you’ll have no trouble pinpointing each building’s exact location, allowing for an in-depth exploration of the city’s architectural treasures.

Whether you’re a passionate traveller or an avid enthusiast of architecture, this guide will be your trusty companion as you unveil the extraordinary tales etched onto the walls of Sarajevo. Experience the city’s history unfold before your eyes and be inspired by its resilient spirit, as it continues to shape and redefine its captivating skyline.

Hubert Klumpner is an architect and co-founder of Urbanthinktank_next. He is considered one of the originators of the social turn, a movement that had its breakthrough in 2010 with the Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of Social Engagement exhibition at MoMa, New York. He is the Architecture and Urban Design Professor at the Swiss Institute of Technology / Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich. Urbanthinktank has received numerous awards and prizes such as the Golden Lion of the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Gold Holcim Award Latin America, and the Award for the Best Educational Building from the Chicago Museum of Architecture and Design. Recent built projects include Fabrica de Cultura and the ONDA Green Corridor Project in Medellin, Colombia

Michael Walczak is an architect and co-founder of Urbanthinktank_next. He holds a doctoral degree, Digital Urban Imaginaries, from the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria, receiving the state prize from the Austrian Federal Minister of Science and Education. His work is bridging research and practice in the field of architecture and urban-design, co-developing EnerPol software for large-scale urban simulations. Currently, he is leading the Urban Transformation Project Sarajevo / Digital Twin and teaching at ETH Zürich and the University of Sarajevo Faculty of Architecture. During the opening of the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, he presented Studio Mobil as a dialogue platform for architecture, and human and environmental rights at the Global Campus of Human Rights in Venice.

LIFT – Spatial Initiatives is an organisation that was founded by a group of young architects four years after organising the first Days of Architecture Sarajevo festival, aiming to encourage discourse on contemporary architecture, design, and spatial planning, while connecting these topics to global social and cultural changes and focusing on Sarajevo as the main case study. The main activities are focused on the production of architectural / cultural events (lectures, exhibitions, competitions, research / studies and community workshops, spatial interventions, projections etc.) through the international festival Days of Architecture Sarajevo, one of the most recognised architectural events in South-East Europe, held over multiple days annually since 2008. Over ten years, Days of Architecture and LIFT have progressed from a student project to one of the most important events for the contemporary architecture of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The period is marked by a continuous broadening of cooperation with architects, researchers, and professionals from other disciplines and geographies, and a gradual evolution of the approach in designing the festival and the community. Today, DA’s focus is on developing a regional platform for networking and complementary education of architects and architecture students. Nedim Mutevelić, Irhana Šehović, Dunja Krvavac, Jasmin Sirčo, Senka Ibrišimbegović, Irfan Salihagić, Edin Sarić, Farah Zubović, Zerina Salketić, and Edin Zoletić