Interviewed in Zagreb, October 15th 2005

An islander by origin, Mediterranean by way of life and identity, Nikola Ba{i} is to a certain extent a singular personality in the Croatian architecture of the past 20 years. The free, expressive forms of his early works – marinas on the island of Murter, his native region, show contextual and narrative features, also present in his religious works. Bašić’s ecclesiastical architecture since the beginning of the 90s has presented itself as a transformation of the archetype and aspires to establish a continuity in the historical tradition of Croatian religious architecture, all the way from the Church of Holy Cross in Nin.

ORIS: Edvard Ravnikar, the hero of Slovenian modernism, believed that inspiration and talent do not play important roles in architecture, since it is the result of intellectual thought. Where do you stand in relation to those two extremes? 

Bašić: I would say I start from an emotional position and then rationally try to manage the emotional flow, to lead the process between the two extremes, two poles. This rational element is getting stronger and more pronounced as I get older.