Cultural Benefits of Former Military Buildings’ Reuse: Public Room, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

The reuse of former military buildings is a relatively recent tendency in Skopje. As in different regions and countries around the world, especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall and start of the new political realities in Europe in the late 80s and the beginning of 90s, in the former socialist countries, such as Macedonia, military heritage has become a common part of the society and has been used for various cultural purposes. These former military facilities that have remained in a good physical condition and that have undergone contemporary reuse projects in Skopje have become a part of the new cultural networks and routes, and they have even promoted various values related to smart city concept. The conversion from the rigid and neglected military buildings which have been existing near the former Railway Station into new cultural hubs, centers for design and innovations are offering vast multi-layered benefits to the cultural mainstreams. This paper aims to interpret how the mentioned benefits are achieved through the applied adaptive reuse project and decision- making process within the context of “Public Room”; offering and promoting up-to-date multicultural activities and events to the locals and tourists, without any bias towards political, ethnical or religious orientation.