"Preserving the Past, Modeling the Future: A Retrofit Framework for the Sava Center in Belgrade" presents a research study on energy-efficient retrofit strategies for a culturally significant building. The Sava Center is one of the most iconic architectural and cultural landmarks of Yugoslav Modernism. Built between 1976 and 1979, it functioned as a major congress and cultural venue, embodying ideals of civic ambition, technological innovation, and public accessibility. With its monumental Brutalist aesthetic and an all-encompassing spatial program, it remains a uniquely significant example of the region’s architectural innovation and technological advancement. This research presents a performance-based retrofit framework for historically significant buildings of this scale and typology, using the Sava Center as a hypothetical case study. Developed through a multi-method approach - bridging architectural history, building science, and digital performance modeling - the study demonstrates how design, technology, and heritage values can be aligned to improve energy performance without compromising architectural and cultural integrity. Methods include archival research, BIM modeling, hygrothermal and thermal envelope simulations (Revit, WINDOW, THERM, WUFI), and whole-building energy analysis (IES VE). Results suggest that the proposed design strategies could reduce energy use by over 50% while preserving the building’s original character, programmatic intent, and civic function.

Initiated in 2021, the study coincided with actual renovations to the Sava Center’s Congress Hall building following its simultaneous privatization and designation as a cultural heritage site. These interventions, though aimed at energy efficiency, were completed rapidly, with minimal transparency and significant programmatic changes. Although the renovations concluded before the study’s completion, the presented case study remains a critical reference for more systematic and preservation-sensitive retrofits. In a region where too many significant buildings built between 1945 and 1991 are being rapidly privatized and, unfortunately, demolished, this framework helps illuminate the substantial potential for their protection - both through cultural heritage designation and sensitive, energy-efficient renewal. This research introduces the overarching framework, key findings, and policy implication, with future work to expand on detailed analysis.

Citation:

Milosevic, S., and Aksamija, A., (2025). “Preserving the Past, Modeling the Future: A Retrofit Framework for the Sava Center in Belgrade”, Proceedings of the STRAND OA2025 International Conference, Sustainable Urban Society Association, Belgrade, Serbia, December 4-5, pp. 246-263.