The architectural oeuvre of Zoja Dumengjić (Odessa, 1904 – Zagreb, 2000) represents a remarkable contribution to Croatian modern architecture. With a continuity of nearly two hundred modern architectural projects distinguished by a unique personal vision, realized from the late 1920s to the end of the 1970s, Zoja Dumengjić stands out in the context of her Croatian contemporaries. While her work encompassed a wide range of building typologies, her most significant impact was in the field of healthcare architecture. Her major achievement is the complex of the Split General Hospital in Firule, while in Zagreb she is known for the School of Assistant Nurses and the dormitory on Mlinarska Street, health centers in Trnje, Medveščak, and Črnomerec, as well as the Center for Gynecological Cancer on Petrova Street. In every field of her work, Zoja Dumengjić made pioneering strides as a female architect in a profession dominated by men. She was the first female architect in Croatia to win a first-prize entry in an architectural and urban planning competition, execute a first modern architectural project, publish her work internationally, run her own independent architectural design office, and ultimately receive the Viktor Kovačić and Vladimir Nazor Lifetime Achievement Awards. Through her pioneering efforts, architectural works, and notable successes, she paved the way for modern and contemporary creation and the recognition of female architects in Croatia.
Zrinka Barišić Marenić is a full professor and permanent scientific advisor at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb. She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture in Zagreb in 1996, earned her master’s degree in 2002, and her PhD in 2007. Her research and teaching focus on modern Croatian architecture and industrial archaeology. She has published over one hundred scientific and professional papers, as well as the books Lexicon of Architects of the Atlas of Croatian Architecture of the 20th Century (2009, with A. Uchytil and E. Kahrović) and Architect Zoja Dumengjić (2020). She has chaired the jury of the Open House Zagreb festival (2023-2024). She is Croatia’s national representative to the International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (TICCIH). She is the recipient of the national Annual Award for Science (2009) and the national Award for the Popularization and Promotion of Science (2020).