Opening ceremony of 5th ArhiBau fair – largest regional architecture and construction fair

The ArhiBau fair has established itself as one of the central gathering points for professionals and the general public in the field of construction, physical planning and sustainable development in Croatia and the region. The fair is traditionally accompanied by a conference, this year dedicated to “Housing for a Sustainable Community - Experiences and Guidelines”.

The conference was opened by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Branko Bačić.

In his speech, he noted that three key acts by the Ministry are currently open for public consultation - the Physical Planning Act, the Building Act and the Act on Energy Efficiency in Building Construction.

“The Physical Planning Act aims to make planning more transparent, to digitise spatial plans and standardise them at the state level. We also introduce a new hybrid spatial-planning document, an urban project, which will enable the construction of buildings and settlements for affordable housing without changes to spatial plans,” he said.

“The Building Act aims to simplify the procedures for building new housing units, to accelerate the process of issuing permits and to adopt new solutions which will benefit architects in their work. These acts will help generate conditions for better and more sustainable housing,” the Minister added.

The new legislative framework, the Minister clarified, is divided into two acts - the Building Act and the Act on Energy Efficiency in Building Construction - with the aim of defining the rules on construction and energy efficiency more clearly.

He pointed out that this year’s ArhiBau fair fits perfectly into all Ministry activities focused on ensuring affordable, sustainable and good-quality housing to all citizens, and especially to young people, who find it increasingly difficult to access affordable housing.

He also noted that the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted the National Housing Policy Plan in late March, a document which provides solutions to all contemporary challenges of the housing sector. He highlighted that affordable housing does not refer solely to the construction of new housing units.

“At the moment, there are 600,000 housing units in Croatia not used for the purpose of housing, while at the same time the demand for new apartments is ever rising. This paradox clearly states that constructing new dwellings is not enough - we need smarter management of existing resources and appropriate support to citizens through effective programmes.”

He also announced the new Affordable Housing Act, an upgrade of the existing Act on State-Subsidised Housing, as well as amendments to the Act on Proceeding with Illegally Built Buildings. This will enable legalisation of objects constructed by June 21, 2011, for

which the request was not submitted in time. However, he emphasised, there will be no new legalisation wave, and illegal construction will be severely punished.

He further pointed out the measure that has been in force since June, which refers to tax refunds for the acquisition of first residential real estate intended for young people and young families, and the Affordable Rental Programme, which is open for public consultation and whose objective is to activate vacant housing units and make affordable housing more accessible to citizens, namely young people and young families.

This year’s ArhiBau fair takes place in Kačićeva 26 in Zagreb within the premises of the Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Faculty of Geodesy. The fair gathers leading manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, materials and solutions in architecture and construction. The key topics of the fair include public investment and the construction of residential settlements, public housing investment planning, spatial planning and designing, the establishment of a sustainable system of “industrialised” construction and long-term sustainability of publicly-owned rental apartments.

The fair is accompanied by various programmes, such as the Creative HUB - a platform for high school students, university students and creative individuals, and sport activities including a futsal tournament for men and a volleyball tournament for women. It is important to mention interactive lectures for young people, open and pop-up fairs and exhibitions and a music performance “ALUMNIJADA”, which will conclude the conference.

ArhiBau 2025 takes place from Wednesday to Saturday, September 10-13, in synergy with Zagreb Design Week. Joint efforts are made to highlight design, sustainability and the quality of life, and the visitors are offered a unique opportunity to discover novelties in the field of architecture, construction, design, art and interior design at numerous locations in Zagreb. A detailed programme of the fair is available here.

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