Constructing the City of Solidarity: Alfred Roth’s Elementary School in Skopje

Abstract

In 1963, Skopje suffered an earthquake of catastrophic proportions that left the city reduced to rubble. What followed was a case of immense international solidarity. For more than a decade, aid came in abundance from both sides of the Iron Curtain. In a short but intense period of approximately 15 years, the city underwent a process of reconstruction that entirely changed its appearance and the quality of living. In this context, with a strong belief in the importance of high-quality modern education, the Swiss government donated the design, financed the construction and equipped an exemplary school building, designed by Alfred Roth and named after the renowned Swiss pedagogue Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi.