Georgi Konstantinovski

Georgi Konstantinovski (born 29 July 1930 in Kraguevac, Serbia) is a Macedonian architect, writer and educator.
He graduated from the Faculty of Architecture in Skopje in 1956. In 1965, he received his Master of Architecture Degree from Yale University, under the leadership of Paul Rudolph and Serge Chermayeff. His early works are stylistically considered Brutalist. In New York City, he worked and collaborated with Jo Ming Pei, Henry Cobb, Jr. and Araldo Cossutta.
In his search for design features that reflect the individual philosophy, structure and art of each building, Konstantinovski designed more than 450 architectural and urban projects. He was awarded the highest Macedonian and Yugoslav architectural awards, such as the highest National Award for Art "11 Oktomvri" for Best Architectural Achievement in Skopje, in addition to three Grand Prix on the Architectural Biennale in Macedonia. He has further contributed to contemporary Macedonian architecture as an educator and writer. He was President of the Council for Urban Planning and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture in Skopje. He is also a member of the Architectural Academy of Macedonia.
Konstantinovski is an important contributor to contemporary Macedonian architecture. Some of his most renown buildings are City Archive in Skopje, Student's Dormitories Goce Delcev, Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology, ASNOM Memorial Center, and the Memorial House of Razlovci Uprising.
Konstantinovski is currently a retired professor from the Design Department of the Architectural Faculty in Skopje.

Born on July 29, 1930 in the town of Kraguevac in Serbia, Konstantinovski was the third child of mother Hristina, a high-school teacher, and father Hristo, a lawyer. His mother came from the Stankovic family of musicians, well known in Kraguevac. His father from the clan Curanovci of the village Smilevo, a revolutionary family during the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising.

Following the death of his mother (1933) and father (1934), Konstantinovski settled in Bitola in the Republic of Macedonia with his grandparents. He completed primary school there in 1941. In 1941, Konstantinovski contracted malaria and was sent for treatment to Kerkovica in the Balkan Mountain Range from 1941 to 1946. By 1946, he completed his high school education and was declared, together with fellow student Bojan Nicev from Veles, best student. From 1946 to 1949, he continued his education at the High School Goce Delcev in Bitola. He graduated with excellent scores, and again was declared best student. He was also awarded a special reward by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Macedonia.

In 1949, following the planned program of the Ministry of Education, he enrolled to the Architecture Department of the Technical Faculty in Skopje. In 1953, he worked in seaside residential settlement projects in the town of Haifa, at the Bureau of the Architect Samo Almosnino, Haifa, Israel. In 1953 he worked on kibbutz city planning projects at the Jewish Agency Bureau, Haifa, Israel. In 1956, Georgi Konstantinovski graduated from the Faculty of Architecture with distinctions and got employed at the Bureau of City Planning and Architecture in Skopje, to work on the city planning of town settlements "Zdanec" and "Cair". From 1956 to 57, he did his military service with the engineering army unit in Split, Croatia. In 1958, he became assistant at the Technical Faculty, Skopje - Architecture Department on the subject of "Designing of Residential and Catering Buildings". He started practicing housing architecture in 1969 at the Bureau „Projekat" headed by architect Rajko Tatic, Belgrade. He obtaining his master's degree at Yale University, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, USA in 1964-65 under Paul Rudolph's and Serge Chemaef's mentorship. He worked on administrative buildings project in 1965 at the Bureau of the Architect Jo Ming Pei, New York, USA. From 1995, he was appointed full-time professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Skopje till retirement.

1958—95 -From position of assistant to full-time professor of the subject Designing of Residential and Catering Buildings. -Mentor to post-graduate, M.Sc. and Ph.D. - degree obtaining students as well as to several hundreds graduates.

-Head of the Design Institute.

1983 President of the Urbanism Council of the City of Skopje. 1987-88 Dean of the Faculty of Architecture. 1999 Member of the Macedonian Academy of Architecture.

Lectures held

1966 - 67 10 lectures on the greatest architects of the modern world architecture to architects in Skopje. 1977 Modern Architecture in Macedonia at Kolarcev University in Belgrade. 1988 My Architectural Work at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade. 1990 Modern Architecture of Skopje at the International Congress of Architects in Bursa, Turkey. 1991 - 97 Several lectures at the International Congress of Architects in Bursa, Turkey. 1994 New Way of Housing at "Jildiz" University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Publications

1967 - 68 Editor-in-chief of articles on architecture in the daily newspaper " Vecer". 1978 - 80 Participant in the joint scientific piece of work Rational Residential Construction, Faculty of Architecture, Skopje. 1986 XX Century Architecture, „Prosveta", Belgrade, Chapter: Modern Architecture in Macedonia; 2001 Builders in Macedonia VIII-XX century, first volume, "Tabernakul", Skopje; 2003 Builders in Macedonia VIII-XX century, second volume, "Tabernakul", Skopje; 2006 Builders in Macedonia VIII-XX century, third volume, "Tabernakul", Skopje (in printing phase).

List of significant buildings: 1966 Archive of the City of Skopje, Blvd. "Partizanski Odredi". 1967 Pensioners Recreation Home at Katlanovska Banja. 1969 Students Dormitory "Goce Delcev", Skopje. 1971 Printing House in Pristina, Kosovo (40.000m2). 1972 Town Archive Building of Stip. 1974 Town Archive Building of Ohrid. 1978 Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology "IZIIS", Skopje. 1979 Memorial House of Razlovci Uprising in village Razlovci, near Delcevo. 1983 Strumicko-Povardarska Eparchy, Veles. 1988 Architectural and Urban Concept of the settlement "Jagula", Struga. 1989 Administrative building and two residential blocks (GF+3 stories) at "Marsal Tito" Street, Struga. 1993 Palace "Unija“ at "Ivo Ribar Lola" Street, Skopje. 1994 Administrative-commercial building (Palace "Kuzman“) at "Ivo Ribar Lola" 58 Street, Skopje. 1995 Residential building (GF+ Mezzanine +4 stories +top story) at "29 Noemvri" Street, Skopje (opposite Performance Hall "Univerzalna sala"). 1995 Treatment Home „Sue Raider", Gjorce Petrov, Skopje.

1986—2003

- Piransa, Pirastela and Piradonija: studies on living in high residential structures, - Studies on low residential structures, - Studies on atrium houses in various geometric forms (circle, triangle, square, polygon, spiral ..) 2006 Residential mega-structure

1969 Students' Dormitory "Goce Delcev", Skopje - I prize, 1977 Skopje City Hall - I prize (the only award), 1993 Orthodox Basilica in Strumica - I prize, 1998 Parliament Building in Astana, Kazakhstan - I prize, 2005 Memorial Museum ASNOM, village Pelince, Kumanovo - I prize, - Big number of first-ranked works, as well as many II and III prizes at level of former Yugoslavia.

1969 Borba plaquette for the Archive of Skopje, 1969 11 Oktomvri National award for the Archive of Skopje, 1972 Borba plaquette for the Students' Dormitory "Goce Delcev", Skopje, 1981 Borba plaquette for the Memorial House of Razlovci Uprising in village Razlovci, near Delcevo, 1981 Grand Award of BIMAS for the Memorial House of Razlovci Uprising in village Razlovci, 1988 Medal of labour with gold wreath, 1995 Grand Reward of BIMAS for the Palace "Unija", Skopje. 1999 Award Andrea Damjanov for lifework, 2005 Grand Award for architecture for the Memorial Museum "ASNOM".

1965- Guest of the Senator Robert Kennedy and the State Secretary, Mr. McPherson, in Washington on the occasion of the International Students Day in the USA as the only representative of the University in Yale, New Haven, USA. 1991- Declared as the best architect of Yugoslavia at the Third Belgrade Triennial of World Architecture. 1991- Declared as one among the 55 best world architects at the Third Belgrade Triennial World Architecture.