Independent Chair of Buildings

The department has its beginnings in the academic year 1919/20, upon the establishment of the Technical College in the subject of Building Constructions, which was taught by Professor Arch. Karlo Gentzkov. He was succeeded by his assistant Zvonimir Vrkljan. The Department of Building Constructions was founded in 1937. Professor Zvonimir Vrkljan became the head of the department.

The department was part of the Technical Faculty until the division in 1956, and since the division of the AGG Faculty into independent faculties from 1962. Lectures at the Faculty of Civil Engineering on the subject of Building Constructions were taken over by Assistant Professor Radovan Nikšić. Assistants were Boris Krstulović, and from 1964, Ivan Lenić. The former name of the subject Building Constructions was renamed to Elements of High-Rise Buildings. The new name aimed to more precisely define the content of the subject.

From the academic year 1965/66, the subject of Building Design in the structural orientation was established, and in 1970/71, the subject of Traffic Buildings in the traffic orientation. The subjects were also taught at the Transportation Study until its separation, as well as at the Faculty of Architecture until 1987. Both subjects were initially taught by Prof. R. Nikšić, then from 1972/73, Building Design was taught by Assistant Professor B. Krstulović, and Traffic Buildings from 1987 were taught by Instructor I. Lenić. From the academic year 1972/73, the subject of Final Works was introduced in the construction organization direction, taught by Assistant Professor B. Krstulović. For all subjects, the assistants were architects Ivan Lenić and Goran Poljanec from 1972 onwards.

From 1977, all classes were held within the newly established Department of Building Construction. From the academic year 1983/84, the subject Introduction to Civil Engineering was introduced. It was taught by Prof. R. Nikšić until 1986, and then continued by Prof. B. Krstulović, who also took over the lectures on Elements of High-Rise Buildings. A new subject, Building Physics, was separated from the subject Elements of High-Rise Buildings, and it was led by Vladimir Šimetin. In 1985, Prof. Fedor Wenzler introduced the subject Spatial Planning instead of the subject Urbanism, which was led by Prof. B. Milić from the Faculty of Architecture until 1981.

Classes were held in Zagreb until the 1970s at locations on Roosevelt Square and Kačićeva Street. After 1977, the subject Elements of High-Rise Buildings, and later Introduction to Civil Engineering, were taught at the St. Duh location, and the subject Final Works at the Trnjan Street location. Faculty members of the Department also taught classes at the faculties of civil engineering in Split and Osijek.

In 1991, the Department of Building Construction was founded. Prof. Dr. B. Krstulović taught the subjects Elements of High-Rise Buildings, Introduction to Civil Engineering, and Building Design. Prof. Dr. F. Wenzler taught Spatial Planning, and Instructor I. Lenić taught Traffic Buildings. Goran Poljanec was appointed as an instructor in 1993 and promoted to senior instructor in 2000 for the subjects Elements of High-Rise Buildings I and II.

Through the merger with higher technical schools in 1982, the following instructors have been involved in teaching higher education studies within the Department: Prof. Miljenko Smoljanović, Prof. Pavle Madiraca, Mira Macarol-Petrinjak, Ante Radas, and Jelena Tomić.

Upon the retirement of Prof. B. Krstulović in 2002, Prof. G. Poljanec became the head of the Department. Within the department, teaching in undergraduate studies was conducted by Senior Instructor Tomislav Petrinjak (since 2002) and Instructor Silvio Bašić (since 2003). In 2011, the Department of Building Construction consisted of Prof. G. Poljanec, Senior Instructor Silvio Bašić, Instructor Ivana Senjak, and Research Assistant Nikolina Vezilić Strmo.

At the Technical College Department of Civil Engineering, within the Department of Building Construction, teaching until its separation from our faculty in 2003 was led by College Professor Pavle Madiraca and Senior Instructor Mira Macarol-Petrinjak.

Teaching in Building Physics for higher and lower degree studies was conducted by Senior Instructor Vladimir Šimetin, along with teaching assistants Ivana Hari and Željko Sušić.