Srbac (Bosnia): It is not exactly on a par with the Taj Mahal but not far off: a family house in Srbac, a small town in northern Bosnia, is in its way a monument to love.
The house designed and built by 72-year-old Vojin Kusic, with its green façade and red metal roof, can fully rotate on its foundation.
Kusic's motive was simple: to satisfy his wife's shifting desires as to what she should see when she looks out of the windows of her home.
"I came to the idea to make this house a long time ago, but conditions were not right for that at the time. I had no time to spare because I had been running a private plastic manufacturing business, at the moment we also produce paper products, I had a lot of work, a lot of machinery and technology to take care of. But now, after I reached advanced age and after my children took over the family business, I finally had enough time to task myself with granting my wife her wish," says Kusic.
Many years ago, when they had just married, Kusic built another, typical house for himself and his wife in which they raised their three children.
But his wife questioned the room layout shortly after it was built.
"When I was building our normal house, (my wife and I) talked about it and she said she wanted our bedroom to face the sun so that sunrays would wake her up and I accepted that. But this meant that our living room had to go to the opposite side (of the house) and after some time she complained because it faced away from the road and she said she could not see people entering our front yard and suggested moving the living room so that it would face the road. I had to tear down the wall between our two bedrooms to turn them into a living room and to move all (electrical) installations, it was a very demanding task, it took a lot from me, but I did what she wanted," says Kusic.
But it didn't end there.
Six years ago, the only one of Kusic's three children did not to fly the nest, made the family house his permanent residence.
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"After our son got married, he took over the upper floor and we moved into the basement. Once again, this time on the ground floor, I had to start tearing down some walls, at which point, before she changed her mind again, I decided to build (my wife) a new, rotating house so that she can spin it as she pleases. Now, our front door is also rotating, so if she spots unwanted guests heading our way, she can spin the house and make them turn away. That is it," says Kusic.
Kusic didn't go to university and dedicated his life to his manufacturing business -- skills which were quite useful to design and build a rotating house by himself.
As for parts, he cleverly reused electric motors and wheels of an old military transport vehicle.
"I have seven grandchildren, as well as three children with spouses. I've now built a monument to myself during my lifetime. I've built a very solid house, properly made and suitable for three families (to share). It is for us, but also for them. Children love coming here, including the youngest, the 3-year-old, they love taking a ride in their grandpa's house. It makes me happy to have given them, and myself, that pleasure," says Kusic.
When visitors come to see their unusual home, Kusic's wife no longer asks him to send them away but rather stays away herself.
AP
