Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.17018/portal.2023.7
The headquarters of the Rudolf barracks in Zagreb: from construction to reconstruction after an earthquake
Martina Ivanuš
orcid.org/0000-0001-6565-5102
; Croatian Conservation Institute, Joint Division for Documentation
Krešimir Karlo
orcid.org/0000-0001-5748-6353
; Ministry of Culture and Media, Conservation Department in Bjelovar
Abstract
The process of renovation of public buildings after an earthquake is also an opportunity for revaluation and new research of architectural heritage. The headquarters of the Prince Rudolf Infantry Barracks in Zagreb is a perfect example of such an endeavour. Through the research for a conservation study for the complete reconstruction of a building damaged by an earthquake, a previously unpublished document was found that sheds additional light on the construction history of the Rudolf barracks. It is a bill of quantities: a cost estimate with a complete list of all the work that was to be carried out, confirmed on 24 April 1888. The document enables us to reconstruct all the materials that were used and the work that was carried out, as well as the technology of building and equipping the Rudolf barracks. The barracks headquarters has played multiple roles in the architectural history of Zagreb. The building is part of the military-barracks complex, which was the spatial benchmark of the city's development towards the west. The whole complex is a result of the reorganization of a military system in dire need of modernization, and it faithfully depicts the financial and political situation in Zagreb at the time, i.e. the modalities of financing the construction of public buildings at the end of the 19th century. The ‘building for offices or apartments for officers or Building no. 1 for offices and school’ is one of thirteen buildings that formed the complex of the Rudolf barracks. The complex was designed in 1881 by the Viennese engineer Franz von Gruber, the leading theoretician of the construction of public buildings in the Empire, at the project bureau he founded with Franz Völckner. The design for the complex was based on the model of the pavilion system, in which the buildings are separated according to function. The same model was also used for new medical buildings at the end of the 19th century. The main building of the Rudolf barracks, as well as the entire complex, was built in compliance with two basic principles: a façade with neo-stylistic features and use of the modern construction materials like asphalt and concrete structures, which were also used at the time of construction to strengthen the structure, as well as to cast concrete coats of arms on the main façade. Since Zagreb was hit by an earthquake in 1880, a few years before the construction of the Rudolph barracks, the load-bearing structure was reinforced with concrete to a thickness of up to 16 cm and corrugated sheet metal. Waterproofing of the foundation and walls was done with 15-mm-thick asphalt. A central heating system with ceramic furnaces was also installed along with a system of plumbing and heating installations made of iron and stone pipes. The façade of the building, made of façade brick, bears the characteristics of historicism with distinct reminiscences of medieval architecture, which are manifested in the attic and dividing cornices (a saw-tooth motif), the main entrance (portals with lunettes), acroteria and a centrally positioned tower with heraldic wreaths. The barracks complex served its original military function until 1978, when most of the complex was demolished, except for its eastern section. After the Croatian-Hungarian settlement in 1868, the army was under both Croatia and Hungary, and was organized according to the model of territorial forces and filled through recruitment. The official name was the Royal Croatian Home Guard or the Royal Croatian-Hungarian Home Guard (Kroatisch-slawonische Landwehr or Horvát-szlavon Honvédség). After the reorganization of the Home Guard, the main building of the Rudolf barracks served as headquarters to the 53rd regiment. It was named after Emperor Rudolph of Austria until 1918, when it became Nikola Šubić Zrinski Barracks or the Zrinjski barracks. During World War II, from 1941 to 1945, the barracks housed the Home Guard infantry command (53rd and 35th regiments). After World War II, the barracks housed the Yugoslav People's Army and was part of the 5th Army District until 1978, when the entire complex was demolished except for its eastern section. This intervention created two problems: the urban and architectural issue of the organization and design of the newly-created square, which has not been resolved to this day, and the issue of the new purpose of the preserved buildings of the Rudolf barracks. In order to solve these problems, several design solutions were created. The most significant was the adaptation project by architect Miroslav Begović, which was supposed to transform the headquarters into an annex of the National and University Library. The basic layout of the interior and the representative staircase were preserved. This intervention also determined all future interventions on the building during the 20th century, which can be defined by the preservation of the original façade along with the reconstruction of the interior. Today, the intervention carried out by architect Miroslav Begović has received a logical continuation with anti-seismic reinforcements using methods such as the installation of the FRCM system and strengthening of the shotcrete structure.
Keywords
Rudolf barracks; earthquake reconstruction; Franz von Gruber; Carl Völckner; bill of quantities
Hrčak ID:
312364
URI
Publication date:
29.12.2023.
Visits: 177 *