The environmental aesthetics of Sarajevo: A city shaped by memory

Abstract

This article discusses aesthetic singularity in present-day Sarajevo and shows how time generates a social response to the visual quality of space. Acknowledging the metamorphosis of the cityscape with regard to the identity reformulation of post-war Sarajevo, it examines the sensory engagement of people with the urban environment in relationship to the traumatic events and shifting realities imposed by globalisation. The hypothesis is that the environmental aesthetics of post-war cities are defined by the traumatic memory of physical and social destruction. This article offers insight within a broad range of theoretical discussions on the changes in the visual language and aesthetic quality of urban spaces in post-war Sarajevo.