Holiday Inn Sarajevo, 2014

The series was realised on commission for the collaborative group Placement, that includes graphic designers Danielle Aubert (Princeton, NJ), Lana Cavar (Zagreb, Croatia) and Natasha Chandani (Brooklyn, NY). They are the authors of the bestseller book Thanks for the View Mr. Mies: Lafayette Park Detroit. Their second book, Holiday Inn Sarajevo, will look at the life of this building which is an important piece of architecture, but also played a critical role during the siege of Sarajevo.

The Holiday Inn was the first US franchised hotel in Eastern Europe. It came to be seen as a symbol for Sarajevo during the '84 Winter Olympics, and later during the war when it hosted war reporters covering the siege of the city. It is the last hotel of its size that remains from the Yugoslavian period. Much of the hotel's controversial design remains unchanged, a witness to its time — its yellow façade was rebuilt after the war, the grand circus tent-themed lobby is still decorated as it was when it opened. The Bosnian architect, Ivan Straus, was influenced by modernism, socialist design principles, and the structures of Baščaršija, Sarajevo's old town. The project aims to create a record of the life of this building before it is too late.