New York-based architectural designer Aleksa Milojević has unveiled a design proposal for a cultural center that reimagines Balkan traditions for a rural American West community. The project, titled Rhapsodists Tea Room, is planned for a site opposite a historic church and cemetery, where it would serve as both a cultural archive and public gathering space for a historic Balkan community. The design draws directly from South Slavic epic poetry, a centuries-old tradition of oral composition built on performance, collective memory, and communal listening. Field recordings from the early twentieth century documented this practice and revealed how long narrative works were transmitted across generations, informing Milojević's architectural approach. The proposal translates these oral traditions into physical space, creating a civic commons that combines library functions, meeting areas, and spaces for cultural exchange. Through its spatial organization, the project emphasizes gathering and shared presence rather than static display of heritage artifacts.
At the heart of the design lies the gumno, a circular threshing floor that historically functioned as a communal forum and performance space in Balkan villages. Milojević reinterprets this traditional element as an outdoor circular gathering area that organizes the entire site as both commons and stage. A ring of concrete blocks, derived from the structural principles of epic narrative, defines the perimeter of this space. These blocks serve multiple functions, acting as seating during events while simultaneously creating a spatial field that visitors engage through movement and shifting viewpoints. The circular form establishes a center-oriented focus that mirrors the communal listening experiences of traditional epic poetry performances. This architectural gesture transforms a simple agricultural feature into a contemporary space for cultural continuity.
The building itself adopts the geometry of the gumno in its interior layout, translating the circular form into a central library chamber. This main space is lined with integrated seating and shelving, establishing it as the spatial and programmatic core of the project. Surrounding this central library are flexible areas designated for workshops, dining, exhibitions, and meetings, which can be opened to create a continuous interior environment. Visual connections and long sightlines link the library to these surrounding rooms, as well as to the outdoor gumno to the west and the churchyard to the east. These deliberate relationships create a dialogue between interior and exterior spaces, reinforcing the project's role as a connector between community life and cultural memory. The design prioritizes transparency and flow to encourage spontaneous interaction among visitors.
Milojević's proposal extends the existing landscape of remembrance created by the adjacent church and cemetery into a new form of civic space. By positioning cultural heritage as an active practice rather than a preserved artifact, the design supports ongoing community engagement and intergenerational exchange. The project acknowledges the unique context of a Balkan community settled in the rural American West, creating a place that honors ancestral traditions while addressing contemporary needs. The concrete block ring serves as both a physical boundary and a symbolic threshold between past and present, sacred and communal. Through this synthesis of traditional Balkan spatial concepts and modern architectural language, Rhapsodists Tea Room offers a model for how immigrant communities can maintain cultural identity while building new roots in America.
The design's emphasis on performance and gathering reflects a deep understanding of how culture is lived and transmitted through shared experience. Unlike conventional cultural centers that prioritize exhibition spaces, this proposal centers the human interactions that sustain traditions. The integrated seating within the library encourages lingering and conversation, while the flexible peripheral rooms accommodate diverse programming from language classes to music performances. The project's material palette and construction methods are selected to be appropriate for its rural setting while evoking the robust, utilitarian aesthetic of traditional Balkan architecture. Milojević's approach demonstrates how architectural form can actively support the intangible aspects of cultural heritage, creating spaces where memory is performed rather than merely displayed.
Rhapsodists Tea Room represents a thoughtful response to the challenges facing diaspora communities seeking to preserve their heritage in new contexts. By anchoring the design in the specific tradition of South Slavic epic poetry, Milojević creates a space that is both culturally specific and universally accessible. The project's location opposite sacred landmarks reinforces its role as a secular complement to spiritual life, completing a civic and ceremonial axis through the town. As rural communities across America grapple with questions of identity and belonging, this proposal offers an architectural framework for cultural resilience. The design suggests that heritage is not something to be locked in display cases, but a living practice that requires spaces for assembly, storytelling, and shared attention.
