When the clock starts ticking again : revitalization of Zalazi Villages in the Hinterland of Boka Kotorska : conceptual design project

This master’s thesis deals with the issue of abandoned rural heritage and explores the potential of its revitalization through the case study of Zalazi, a scattered village ensemble in the hinterland of Boka Kotorska, Montenegro. In the first part, the work discovers the villages. It explores the site’s history and the reasons for abandonment. It observes the ruins and makes documentation of the as-found state through drawings and physical models. It identifies elements of the natural, cultural, and architectural value of the site and proposes criteria for its valorization and protection. The second phase narrows the focus to the central village of Mali Zalazi and documents it in more detail. Furthermore, it proposes a programmatically and architecturally defined scenario of the first reoccupation by a new cultural center dedicated to the artistic in- terpretation of Montenegrin history, deeply embedded in the stories of Zalazi.