Conception & design In early 1929, the decision was made to establish a Veterans Club in
Belgrade, as the central cultural institution of the armed forces and reserve officers. A competition was launched by the Association of the Reserve Officers and Veterans to find suitable designs. Thirty-one entries were submitted, and the jury – whose members among others were
Petar Popović, Svetozar Jovanović and
Dragutin Maslać – assessed that none of the thirty-one submitted entries deserved the first prize, arguing that none of them could be further developed without considerable prior modifications, particularly to the facades. Two equal second prizes were awarded, to the work of Živko Piperski and Jovan Jovanović, and to the work of Bogdan Nestorović and Jovan Šnajder, and the final right for the realisation was given to Piperski and Jovanović, with the proviso that they should bring it into harmony with the design of Nestorović and Šnajder. On the other hand, the prevailing opinion of the expert public favoured the design by Branislav Marinković as an original composition in a modernized Serbian-Byzantine style. The design by Piperski and Jovanović was conceived in the style of
аcademism, as a monumental Palace with a prominent cornice and a colonnade of pilasters, which was similar to the General Headquarters Building, designed by the architect Wilhelm von Baumgarten, built some time earlier. Unlike them, the facade proposed by Nestorović and Šnajder's design was described as Byzantine-Romanesque, and because of the interaction of different cultural traditions suggested by such a combination, this type of stylistic formulation was considered a desirable model of the national style which enjoyed popularity in the 1920s and 1930s. The final version of the accepted design was considerably different from both second prize winning proposals. Instead of elaborate eclectic architectural ornament, a restrained modernist concept was applied.
Construction The lot for the construction of the club was donated by the
Administration of the City of Belgrade, as a gift to former veterans, and the club was built from donations from the members of the
National Defense, the subventions given by the patron king
Aleksandar the Unifier, and from civilian organizations. The construction began in October 1930 and the building was dedicated on 29 May 1932.
Use before occupation The facility was to serve as a headquarters for several national, cultural, and humanitarian associations on the model of the so-called peoples' houses in
Czechoslovakia,
Poland and elsewhere. Apart from the Association of Reserve Officers and Soldiers, the building became home to the
Adriatic Guards, Volunteers Association, Sokol Union, Society of the Friends of France, Shooting Association, Fencing Club and Actors Association Fund. In addition to offices, two reception halls and a restaurant, the building's fourth and fifth floor served as a hotel, whose accommodation capacity was reinforced by the addition of the wing facing Simina Street in 1939. One part of the club was intended for the accommodation of guests from the rest of the country.
Use during & after occupation After the
invasion and occupation of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the building was used by the German occupying authority. In August 1941,
Wehrmacht officers moved in and the building became the
Gestapo Headquarters for the entire
Balkan region. On victory day, 9 May 1946, the building was officially established as the
Yugoslav Army Club. The first post-war commander and head of the club was professor, colonel, academic painter and graphic artist, Branko Šotra. In 1984, he City of Belgrade Assembly designated the club as cultural property. Since 2010, the club has become the seat of the Меdia centre "Defence" and the Artistic ensemble "Stanislav Binički". ==Architecture==