Zemlja

In a society still recovering from the Bosnian War and the Siege of Sarajevo in the 90s, Zemlja, located in the Grbavica neighbourhood of Sarajevo, strives to rebuild a sense of place, home, and shared identity through architectural innovation. It embodies a holistic approach to deep social repair and healing, promoting the production and use of local and sustainable materials and knowledge. The original apartment has been radically transformed by drawing on Sarajevo's architectural heritage and the resilience of its citizens, while forming new relationships between materials and people.

Working within a compact 50m2 area, a key challenge was to create a spacious and adaptable home. Non-structural walls were replaced by movable curtains hanging from a continuous track, converting four dark, small rooms into one generous light space with adaptable living areas. The terracotta-coloured wool curtains act like theatre drapes. They reveal and hide layers of space and provide endless possibilities for change, creating intimate or spacious settings and varying atmospheres. Demolishing the partition walls symbolises the removal of physical and psychological boundaries that exist in a divided society. While parts of the design learn from examples of innovative, adaptable and organic architecture from the city's past. Three islands of bespoke fixed furniture, conceived as miniature architecture, anchor the main uses of living, working, sleeping, and dining. They are inset from the external walls and ceiling, allowing fluid movement, air flow, and daylight to circulate freely.

‘Zemlja' is made almost entirely from natural materials - Earth, clay, wood, stone, and natural fabrics. With traces of the human hand left in its crafted surfaces. It is a pleasure to maintain Zemlja, with care and natural cleaning products. The use of locally sourced cost-effective wood, including solid beech boards and spruce windows contributes to circularity and connects the apartment to the surrounding forests. Natural clay plaster finishes the walls and ceilings, a first contemporary example in Bosnia and Herzegovina, rooted in local tradition. The timber balcony reconnects to the community and nature: blurring the division between public and private. This builds on the spirit of Sarajevan adhocism and diversity, evident in the patchwork of self-built balconies. Alongside the design, Projekt V Arhitektura managed the entire construction process, while self-building specialist furniture, working with disconnected mines, factories, and craftspeople across Bosnia and Herzegovina.