Referendum Sought to Preserve Iconic Macedonian Mall

The Association of Macedonian Architects, AAM, is to submit an initiative for a referendum to the municipality of Centar in Skopje after the authorities announced a start to construction in September.

"The fight for GTC symbolizes the fight for what's left of Skopje," the head of AAM, Sanja Regjenovic Jovanovic, said, referring to the government-sponsored revamp, known as Skopje 2014, which has clad much of the city centre in styles inspired by Classical antiquity.

She said that after their recent appeals for the withdrawal of the project were ignored they were about to re-launch last year's campaign, called “I Love GTC”, this time under the slogan, “I Love GTC More Than Ever.”

"We are not against the renovation that the mall needs, but the plans to completely change its apperance muct stop," Regjenovic Jovanovic said.

The campaign, like last year's, will include events, rallies, debates and other forms of activism designed to save the Modernist building from the planned refurbishment.

The government-appointed head of the GTC, Ago Abazovski, recently announced a start to construction this autumn.

The ruling parties in parliament in January endorsed changes to the Law on Construction to allow city councillors to decide the look of any facade in the Skopje central area if they deem it of importance.

The City of Skopje is controlled by the same parties, led by VMRO DPMNE.

The GTC mall, located metres from the central Macedonia Square, is the biggest and most visited mall in the capital.

Unlike the others, the state-owned mall, built in the 1970s, has open entrances from all sides, making it an essential transit route for people traversing the city centre each day.

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