Georgi Konstantinovski


Georgi Konstantinovski 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 Io 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.

Early years

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 and father, 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.

Education and work

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.

Professional career

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
.

Designs

List of significant buildings:
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
2006 Residential mega-structure

Competitions