FEATURE INTERVIEW

FEATURE ARTICLE Conservation Architect and Built Heritage Advisor Boris Bogdanovic

Recently joining the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga northern office in April 2022, Boris brings a wealth of international experience to the team, including conflict zones in Afghanistan and urban regeneration projects in Jordan.

WORDS: Antony Phillips IMAGES: Boris Bogdanovic

What does your job at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga entail?

I am a Conservation Advisor, and my job is to give advice to historic building owners on best practice approaches to the conservation of their heritage place. They can be people who own, manage, or look after historic buildings – from humble houses to grand museums. I coordinate my advice with colleagues in Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and use it to support Councils in their decisionmaking. My wonderful colleague, Robin Byron, Senior Conservation Architect and I make up the built heritage advisory team for the Northern Region.

Tell me about your background before coming to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

Before coming to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga I was working for the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2006. Turquoise Mountain is an NGO focused on cultural heritage. I lived and worked with local communities affected by conflict in Afghanistan and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Prior to this I was in the United Kingdom working as an Architectural Designer and Conservation Advisor. I was born in Croatia, but my family is from Bosnia and Herzegovina. I still have a strong connection to my Serbo-Croatian heritage. My family and I are also proud New Zealanders, emigrating to Aotearoa in the early 1990s. I grew up in Tāmaki Makaurau and started my architectural studies at the University of Auckland.

Boris giving a tour at the 2nd century AD Roman Theatre at Umm Qais.

"We built a primary school, added a new X-Ray room to a community clinic, and reconstructed multiple houses, all the while using and reviving traditional buildings skills. I saw my work creating benefit for people – it was an amazing feeling."

Boris with colleagues in Kabul. What sparked your interest in heritage?

I have loved history since childhood; my family are great story-tellers and both grandfathers were history buffs, sharing tales of the past and encouraging my interest. Then I discovered ‘art history’ in high school and was even more delighted to find that architectural history was part of the course. The art helped me visualise the past and the architecture showed me how people lived all those years ago. I was hooked, and still feel that same passion to this day.

Do you have a particular heritage place that is special to you?

In New Zealand, I love Maungakiekie One Tree Hill. It is my favorite place in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. My family has always lived in its vicinity and I feel it is my maunga. As a landscape it has revealed itself as I developed professionally. I now see it as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most important archaeological sites with significant layers of archaeology, recent history and memory. Overseas – Istanbul is incredibly special to me, again for those strata of the past and happy personal memories. Both places are ‘palimpsests’ – a word I overuse but reflects why I love them.

Boris at Umm Qais (Ancient Gadara) with the Sea of Galilee behind.

What are some special heritage projects you have worked on that you are most proud of?

I am most proud of the work I was involved with in Afghanistan. There I got to apply my professional skills and personal passion to help a local community repair their historic neighbourhood in the heart of Kabul. We built a primary school, added a new X-Ray room to a community clinic, and reconstructed multiple houses, all the while using and reviving traditional buildings skills. I saw my work creating benefit for people – it was an amazing feeling.

What do you like to do to unwind away from work?

I am freshly returned to Aotearoa after many years away so one of the best ways to unwind is catching up with my family - walking in nature with my sister, learning traditional recipes from our culture with mum, and helping dad with his beehives. I am happy when I am drawing, and I have started planning my first graphic novel.

Why should people care about heritage?

The act of caring for heritage is something our ancestors have done forever – it is part of what makes us human. Heritage is our physical memory – whether good or bad. It is something we share, and it is all around us. Whether it’s an ancient city, a historic house, a traditional song, or grandma’s rolling-pin handed down, heritage can unite, inspire and restore faith in ourselves and our society. Trust me – I’ve seen it. n