This is a public announcement regarding the articles in the daily newspaper “Vijesti” on June 6th and 7th 2006, about the construction of new hotels located at “URC Slavija” and the existing hotel “FJORD” in Kotor.
As an organization concerned with space and promoting its values, we wish to bring to public attention these issues which, in our opinion, might pose a serious threat to Kotor and the Bay of Boka Kotorska as an exceptionally valuable space within Montenegro.
First of all, the photographs (of a computer 3D model) of the preliminary brief of the future hotels, which appeared in the mentioned texts, depict the form of architecture which is quite difficult to explain and comment from the professional point of view, especially if we consider the context in which the hotels are situated. Furthermore, we want to remind the public that the cultural- historical and natural region of Kotor has been inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list, a status which requires a special attention in managing and shaping the space in Kotor, not only in the Old Town zone but also in the whole area of the Kotor – Risan Bay, and especially in the localities situated in the zone contacting the Old Town. The whole area of Kotor, whose exceptional universal values have been recognized, constitutes heritage not only of Kotor and Montenegro but also of the whole world, and accordingly, all the locations situated in this area deserve special treatment.
Without analyzing the hotels themselves and their relation to their immediate surroundings (the Old Town and the Bay) and leaving space to the project authors to defend their professional attitude, in this moment we want to raise a question of whether buildings of such appearance and visual features should be constructed in Kotor. It is quite unbelievable that anyone could sign a permit for buildings that are, both by their form and stylistic features, completely inappropriate not only to this region and its inherited values, but also to the elementary criteria of good architecture.
In this way, we want to appeal to the professional conscience and responsibility of competent authorities in the Municipality of Kotor, Regional institute for the protection of cultural monuments in Montenegro, J. P. “Morsko dobro” - Agency for coastal management and Ministry of environmental protection and spatial planning of Montenegro, inviting them to give their opinion on the texts in “Vijesti”, i.e. on the published photographs of the project. Furthermore, we want to appeal to the mentioned institutions to clarify whether the procedure for issuing permits for the proposed projects is in the process, and generally, what will be their attitude to future appearance and function of the hotels that are to be constructed at the localities of “URC Slavija” and “Fjord”.
We hope that what we have seen in “Vijesti” are only proposed solutions (which are not approved by the competent authorities) that need to be reexamined/ rejected; however, we find it necessary to acquaint the public with the attitudes of competent authorities, because inadequate building in these localities can permanently destroy the values of this extremely valuable space.
Yours faithfully,
for EXPEDITIO
Tatjana Rajić, B.Sc. arch. eng.
Aleksandra Kapetanović, B.Sc. arch. eng.
Biljana Gligorić, B.Sc. arch. eng.
Proposal for "URC", Kotor
Proposal for " "FJORD", Kotor www.totallyfuncompany.com
