Montenegro: Svetlana Kana Radević
Born in 1937 in Cetinje, Yugoslavia (modern-day Montenegro), Svetlana Kana Radević is considered the first woman architect in Montenegro. She held a diploma in architecture from the University of Belgrade in Belgrade, Serbia (1955–1963), and a master in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she studied as a Fulbright Fellow in Louis Kahn’s Master’s Class (1972–1973). She continued her education in the PhD program, completing required coursework, language requirements, and exams, but did not complete her dissertation. She worked for the Republic Institute of Urbanism and Planning in Podgorica (Titograd), Yugoslavia (Montenegro, 1963–1972).
Radević was a member of the Montenegrin PEN Center and the Doclean Academy of Sciences and Arts, and an elected foreign member of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences (1994). She was featured in the exhibition “Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948–1980,” curated by Martino Stierli, Vladimir Kulić, and Anna Kats at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, New York (2018–2019). Her work was also honored in the exhibition “Skirting the Center: Svetlana Kana Radević on the Periphery of Postwar Architecture,” curated by Dijana Vučinič and Anna Kats at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale (2021). Radević was the first woman and youngest laureate of the Federal Borba Award for Architecture (1967). She died in 2000 in Montenegro.
References
Anđelković, Nataša. “Women, Architecture and Montenegro: Svetlana Kana Radević – One of the Most Important Architects of the Balkans of the 20th Century.” BBC News in Serbian, January 25, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/serbian/lat/balkan-60074317.
Angelo, Goran Anđelković-Giorano. “Svetlana Kana Radević | 1937–2000 | in 2013.” AG Architecture | AG Architecture (blog), August 28, 2013. https://gioranoangelo.blogspot.com/2013/08/1937-2000-2013.html.
de la Torre, Lucía. “The Prolific Life and Career of Svetlana Kana Radević, Montenegro’s First Female Architect.” New East Digital Archive. May 21, 2021. https://www.new-east-archive.org/articles/show/12787/svetlana-kana-radevic-venice-biennale-skirting-the-center-montenegro-architect-women-recollected.
“First Lady of Montenegrin Architecture.” Women in Architecture. August 24, 2017. https://www.zua.rs/en/research-en/first-lady-of-montenegrin-architecture/.
Harrouk, Christele. “Yugoslav Architect Svetlana Kana Radevic’s Legacy on Postwar Architecture Highlighted in the 2021 Venice Biennale.” ArchDaily, May 3, 2021. https://www.archdaily.com/960658/yugoslav-architect-svetlana-kana-radevics-legacy-on-postwar-architecture-highlighted-in-the-2021-venice-biennale.
Hickman, Matt. “Yugoslav Architect Svetlana Kana Radević Is Saluted at the Venice Architecture Biennale.” The Architect’s Newspaper, April 14, 2021. https://www.archpaper.com/2021/04/yugoslav-architect-svetlana-kana-radevic-is-saluted-at-the-venice-architecture-.
Kajosevic, Samir. “Montenegro’s Pioneering Woman Architect Celebrated at Venice Biennale.” Balkan Insight (blog), May 5, 2021. https://balkaninsight.com/2021/05/05/montenegros-pioneering-woman-architect-celebrated-at-venice-biennale/.
“Kana — Biography.” APSS Institute. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://kanaradevic.me/biography/.
Kats, Anna. “Reputations: Svetlana Kana Radević 1937–2000.” The Architectural Review, no. 1469 (2020): 26.
Ottone, Lorenzo. “Kana: Pre-Archistar, Modernist, Feminist, Icon.” Domus, July 17, 2021. https://www.domusweb.it/en/speciali/venice-architecture-biennale-2021/gallery/2021/kana-pre-archistar-modernista-femminista-di-sicuro-icona.html.
“Skirting the Center: Svetlana Kana Radevic on the Periphery of Postwar Architecture.” APSS Institute. Accessed September 17, 2025. https://kanaradevic.me/.
“Skirting the Center: Svetland Kana Radevic on the Periphery of Postwar Architecture.” Dijana Vučinić Architecture Research and Practice. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://dvarp.me/skirting-the-center-svetlana-kana-radevic-on-the-periphery-of-postwar-architecture/.
“Svetlana Kana Radević.” Architectuul, accessed March 8, 2024. https://architectuul.com/architect/svetlana-kana-radevic.
“Svetlana Kana Radevic.” Architektur Aktuell. August 4, 2021. https://www.architektur-aktuell.at/termine/svetlana-kana-radevic.
Svetlana Kana Radević.” Muzej Žena. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.muzejzena.me/leksikon.17.leksikon.html.
“Svetlana Kana Radević.” The Museum of Modern Art. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.moma.org/artists/68343.
“Svetlana Kana Radević (1937–2000).” Architectural Review, March 13, 2020. https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/reputations/svetlana-kana-radevic-1937-2000.
“Svetlana Kana Radević: Aggregate Assemblies.” Womxn in Design and Architecture. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://wda.princeton.edu/conference/svetlana-kana-radevic-aggregate-assemblies/.
“Svetlana Kana Radević: Aggregate Assemblies, 2023 Womxn in Design and Architecture Conference.” ArchDaily, March 6, 2023. https://www.archdaily.com/997759/svetlana-kana-radevic-aggregate-assemblies-2023-womxn-in-design-and-architecture-conference.
“Svetlana Kana Radević: One of the Most Important Architects of the Balkans in the 20th Century.” Vijesti. January 25, 2022. https://en.vijesti.me/bbc/586962/Svetlana-Kana-Radevic%2C-one-of-the-most-important-architects-of-the-Balkans-in-the-20th-century.
The Museum of Modern Art. “Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948–1980 | MoMA.” Accessed January 30, 2026. https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/3931.
“2023 WDA Conference: Svetlana Kana Radević.” Princeton University School of Architecture. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://soa.princeton.edu/content/2023-wda-conference%3A-svetlana-kana-radevi%C4%87.
Vućinić. Dijana. “The Socialist Architecture of Svetlana Kana Radević.” Tribune, June 28, 2021. https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/06/the-socialist-architecture-of-svetlana-kana-radevic.
