From a corner of the old Casa de España, we read “BEAUTIFUL WORD.”
From the opposite corner, “OPEN IRON GATE”.
A nice Serbian saying to complement this magical place that has been in ruins since it was bombed during World War I.

THE PLACE

Belgrade, despite its turbulent war history, having been bombed three times, is now a hotbed of contemporary culture, with interesting and lively neighbourhoods such as Savamala.

It is in Savamala that we find what is known as the Casa de España. A building of which only its four brick facades and a grid of concrete pillars pointing towards the sky remain. There is no trace of a roof, or of forgings, or of the reason for its name.

Today, this entire bank of the Sava River is becoming more active with the emergence of design studios, coworking spaces and interventions such as urban gardens. Its epicentre is the Mikser House, home of the Mikser Festival, to which we were invited.

THE PROPOSAL

Using the DIN Pro typeface in its Cyrillic version, we decided to intervene in the complex space of the Casa de España using the anamorphosis technique.

We chose a popular saying full of meaning: “A NICE WORD OPENS AN IRON DOOR.” We decided to separate it to force the viewer to walk around the entire space to complete the work. From the door to the space, the first part can be read: “A NICE WORD.” From the opposite corner, the following is completed: “OPENS AN IRON DOOR.”

Because with a good attitude, a little kindness and a smile, you can achieve anything in life.