Balkan.Perspectives #2: Kosovo: Public Space and Memorialisation Practice

The second edition of the Balkan Perspectives podcast of forumZFD in Kosovo tackles the context architecture, public spaces,and memorialization practices. In this edition Serbeze Haxhiaj discusses with Bekim Ramku. Bekim is architect, urban designer, and director of the Kosovo Architecture Festival.

In this conversation Bekim Ramku elaborates on the challenges of architecture,urban transformation, and city development in Kosovo in the aftermath of its violent past and how various periods and forms of commemoration are reflected in the silhouettes of Kosovo urban spaces. He points out that the most recent attempts to create spaces for memorialisation in public space in Kosovo is a continuation of architectural practices seen in previous decades and periods and thereby hinders the possibilities of new forms of commemoration. He emphasizes the need to prevent a planning vacuum currently prevailing in Kosovo cities and to establish a vision for the current transitional period and establish examples of collective memory throughout the country.