All too often we hear architecture described as a witness to the times and a lifestyle, not to mention all the unwarranted talk about function and functionality. Many celebrated buildings soon prove to be too inadequate to compare to the panegyrics of their contemporaries, causing the “healthier” and more objective theoreticians and architecture critics to smile, disbelieve and despair.    

The “Block 21A” residential building, built in Vukovar for the victims of the Homeland War, came to my attention burdened with information that was not to be taken lightly. The building was designed by the architectural tandem Penezić & Rogina. The design and its execution received the 2001 Vladimir Nazor Award for architecture and urbanism.