Friday, April 20, 2012

Kenzo Tange - Reconstruction plan for Skopje





Reconstruction plan for Skopje


The Team


View from the City Gate

In January 1965, Kenzo Tange received a telegram from the United Nations asking if he would be interested in participating in an international planning competition for the reconstruction of Skopje, the regional capital of the Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. A severe earthquake hit the city in July 1963, kiling more than 2,000 people and destroying roughly 65 percent of the buildings in the city. Reconstruction following the earthquake was carried out by the Yugoslavian government with support from foreign countries and international organizations. The United Nations set up a special fund for preparing a master plan for the city. The Greek architectural firm Doxiades Associates and Polish architect Adolf Ciborowski drew up a regional plan for Skopje in 1964, but they left its center city - an approximately two-square kilometer area - open, with the intention of undertaking a more detailed study through an international competition. Tange considered this project significant not only for its international influence, but also because it would make “a model case of urban reconstruction,” so he accepted the invitation.


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