The Eastern Gate:
Eastern Gate of Belgrade (Istočna kapija grada) also known as the Rudo Buildings, is a complex of three large buildings, each with 28 floors and about 100 meters in height located in the Belgrade suburb of Konjarnik. Each building contains 190 apartments. The buildings are triangularly shaped and built in a circle at an angle of 120 degrees so it always appears that one is between the other. Authors of the project were architect Vera Ćirković and engineer Milutin Jerotijević and was contracted to the engineering company “Rad”.
Each building has a large base consisting of 4 storeys, and above it 6 blocks of 4 storeys, step-like stacked on the huge base. Build in 1976 they represent what is commonly called "communist architecture" or "socialist realism". Designed as efficient high density apartment-blocks, built in a short time frame because of the proletariat moving from villages to the city and rapid population growth. This architecture, following communist ideals, rebels against a culture of individualism. Approximately 2,000 people live in these buildings and due to the hilltop positioning, almost all would have a view of the city skyline.
The buildings external and internal infrastructure has been neglected and for an extended time. In 2012, the Residents Assembly launched an initiative to make safe the exterior of the towers from which from time to time 50-60 pound concrete chunks have been known to fall. The money required however has been out of reach of the development in part due to urban planning laws which require that any repairs to the facades be ‘energy efficient’ which increases the cost of restoration of the approximately 30,000 square meters of facade from 2 million to 10 million dollars.
First to Find: Cujo the Other Dog
Second to Find: Ekabiljo