Prof. Branko Pesic (Zemun, 1 September 1921 – Lignano, 4 October 2006) was a Serbian architect and university professor, designer of numerous buildings in Belgrade and around the world. The legacy of Branko Pesic is in the process of being formed in the Association for Culture, Arts and International Cooperation “Adligat”.
He enrolled at the Technical Faculty in Belgrade – Department of Architecture in 1939, but due to the interruption of his studies during the war, he graduated in 1947. In the period 1947-1951, he worked as a designer, head of construction sites and bureaus in the Directorate for the Construction of New Belgrade.
In 1951, he was elected an assistant at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade, where, until his retirement in 1986, he worked as a lecturer, then a professor of Civil Engineering. He was also a part-time assistant at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade. He taught the same subject for several years at the faculties in Nis, Novi Sad, Zrenjanin and Podgorica. He is the author of textbooks for the subject of construction, as well as a large number of published books and professional papers.
Of his 117 realized projects, the most significant are: the Yugoslav pavilions at numerous international fairs (among which the largest are in New York, Lausanne, Moscow, Paris, Dusseldorf and Beijing); projects of several buildings in Belgrade, among which the most important is the palace “Belgrade” (“Belgrade Woman”). He also supervised the implementation of his projects. He participated in 28 architectural competitions in which he received 20 awards.
He was the president and member of numerous expert juries, participant in exhibitions (“May Exhibitions” of ULUPUDS, independent “Exhibitions on Exhibitions” in Belgrade in 1980 where he exhibited his design work. He was also president of the architecture section of the Association of Applied Artists and Designers Serbia (ULUPUDS) for 14 years, ULUPUDS (1976-1980), then President of the Association of Applied Artists and Designers of Yugoslavia (1981-1982), President of the Editorial Board of the magazine “Contemporary Materials” and “Architecture and Urbanism”.
He is the author of the project for the continuation of the construction of the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade, according to which it was built in 2004. Chief organizer and supervising engineer of all works on the construction of the Temple from 1984 to 1996, Pesic did not receive a salary or any kind of compensation for his work on the Temple, since he considered that project his duty and mission. In addition to his professional work, Pesic actively raised funds for the Temple, for which purpose he held lectures and exhibitions, from Australia to the United Kingdom.