Prishtina in 53 Buildings

“Prishtina in 53 Buildings” draws a multifaceted portrait of Kosovo’s capital city by using architecture as a prism to understand political, cultural and economic processes. Essays on fifty-three built structures, written by different authors with different geographical background and different professional perspective, add up to multilayered account of the city’s history and present. The texts include architectural analyses, political reflections, ethnographic observations and personal memories. Taken together, however, they allow for an understanding of the ambiguous and conflicting processes that are propelling urban development not only in Prishtina. The texts are supplemented by pictures and a visual essay by Italian photographer Filippo Romano.

“Prishtina in 53 Buildings” is more than a guide book for visitors or residents of the city. Buildings are not only the materialization of design principles or architectonic ideas, but the outcome of socio-economic processes. The built environment is constantly re-appropriated, re-interpreted and re-valuated as architects do not have the final say as to the meaning and the function of an edifice. By conceptualizing architecture as materialization of societal processes, “Prishtina in 53 Buildings” pushes beyond notions that assume an intrinsic and coherent ‘logic’ of cities. The editors Donika Luzhnica and Jonas König show that a polyphonic approach is more apposite to depict the often-contradictory trajectories of urban development. What holds true for cities in general, is in particular applicable for post-conflict cities like Prishtina.