Milena [Delević] Grbić holds a PhD in the field of architecture and urbanism, specializing in architectural design and contemporary architecture. She graduated and received her PhD from the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Architecture. She currently works as an Associate Professor at the University of Novi Sad - Faculty of Civil Engineering Subotica.
She has over 15 years of teaching experience in courses related to architectural design. She gained this experience as an assistant at the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Architecture, and as an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor at the University of Novi Sad - Faculty of Civil Engineering Subotica. Her focus on teaching + research represents a special form of engagement that, apart from teaching, is continuously improved by participating in national and international workshops and mentor training programs.
In parallel with her pedagogical work, she is engaged in scientific research. Beyond a comprehensive interest in the scope of her profession, Milena's specific interest is directed towards research and the possibilities of an interdisciplinary approach to architectural design. Her graduation thesis, in which she began researching these relationships, was awarded the City of Belgrade Award for Youth Creativity. Over 13 years of work in scientific and research activities, as an independent researcher, she has published over 30 works in monographs, magazines of national and international importance.
Project description in English
The physical context of the project was determined by two significant spatial conditions: it was to be created in a defined and already adapted attic without a source of natural light, with a complex roof structure mostly visible in the space. This structure determined the size of the usable space to be about 80m², with a height adequate for a public-purpose building. Additionally, there were four different spatial sections of variable heights between 150-170 cm, making up a total area of about 35m², which needed to be utilized.
The given geometry, understood as the initial record of the design process—the double layer located in the third (from this space, the invisible layer), which is the facade of this historically significant object—suggested that the architectural expression should be placed between the given scene and the future scenario. In other words, architecture and archeology were joined by phantasmagoria as a connecting methodological line. This approach made the exhibition a study between real structure and architectural theory.
The main design intention was for the exhibition to communicate that the artifacts are real objects that were once part of everyday life and to enable their experience within their social, economic, and historical environments. For this kind of cognitive path, the space itself needed to remain conceptual, with the exhibition elements being illusionistic and unstable. This would support the exhibition as a place of choice in interpretation, where commitment to one perspective over another can influence the change in the level of thinking from the material to the imaginary. This would allow for multiple readings, experiences, intonations, and suggestiveness of the personal and immediate in a small, but meaningful, space.
The only stable spatial element is a wire mesh with motifs of the building's facade (the facade is not visible from this space; there is only an idea of it). This purifies the geometry of the space and serves as a reminder of the obvious invisibility, from which all narratives of the past emerge in the reality where the visitor is present.
