A film school and campaign center in Skopoje, North Macedonia. Exploring the theme of decay in a formalist/brutalist aesthetic. /Reuse/Concrete/Decay/.
Physical decay and political stagnation have dismantled the dreams of many young Macedonians. During a field trip in the modernist city of Skopje, I was deeply fascinated by the Macedonian struggles for identity, yet they have left their iconic city to the palm trees, fads and foam. Many saw a city burdened by its architectural grandeur - And does not have the will to maintain it.
Modern-day Skopje seems to be deadlocked in this intumescent blockage, where legacy and politics swell into impassable fortresses and the city slowly withers. Recalling Arata Isozaki’s strange short story City Demolition Inc, this project seeks to find “an age in which the killing( decaying) profession would again be art, and in which this human act could be performed with pleasure(humour?)”
The idea of violent decay in the brutalist aesthetic underlined the design of the EU accession forum, which will collapse in 10 years. Multiple failing architecture items around the forum would remind users of its fleeting lifespan. Then the Macedonian search for identity/ world building project would continue in the already probable Macedonian cinema, and in Skopje Film School, which focuses on on-location documentary or film-making. The school acts as a breeding ground for ideas and for returning film-makers like Milcho Manchevski to teach the next generation of film-makers. Perhaps in time, the films made will shift enough minds to authenticate a new and uncontested Macedonian identity.
Tutor: Dave Di Duca + Tetsuro Nagata
