Croatian Pavilion in the form of a ship, which was to represent Croatia at the Biennale of Architecture in Venice, had collapsed on the way to Venice while sailing from Rijeka port over Adriatic Sea. Pavilion arrived to Venice in such a bad shape that it had to be accompanied back to the shipyard where it will be repaired. Croatia will therefore only be able to present its construction project in Arsenal. But the project when presented still in Croatia in its full shape showed very interesting architectural installation that we would like to present to you here. more…

Produced by the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana, studiobotas and the Studio AKKA presents Slovenia at the 12th International Architecture Biennial in Venice with the All Shades of Green project. The playground built with elements of landscape design will interact with the urban space in front of the A+A Gallery, Venice. more…

One week before the opening of the Motovun Film Festival another interesting project had taken place: twenty architecture students from Zagreb and Split came up with a workshop to revitalize a row of arches/niches supporting the famous walkway on city walls, hidden from the views and unavailable for usage so far. more…

Authors: Ivana Žalac, Ivana Cooper, Marin Jelčić, Saša Mitrović
Title: Konzola (Cantilever)

A few weeks ago, the results of the competition “SIT DOWN ZAGREB” for the Zagreb’s new benches were announced. 18 projects have been chosen for realization near the sporting track Jarun in Zagreb. We are showing here the chosen proposals which were designed by architects, artists and sculptors. more…

The collection of wooden lamps “rEža” (eng. Gap) was designed by Mojca Perše, the head of the Laboratory for Creative Industries at the Academy of Design, Ljubljana. The lamps were a final product of a project based on sustainable design. The primary material for a wooden lamp “rEža” is in the mould curved plywood. The designer used already existing moulds from  Javor Furniture d.o.o. for the manufacture of the back of a chair. Two pieces of perforated beech plywood form the basic lamp. By compiling various basic forms we can create a different variety of lamps: table, floor, wall, ceiling or hanging lamps. “rEža” lamps represent new potential ways of merging wood and light. more…

The student workshop KamFest that was held in the first week of August  in Kamnik, Slovenia, was dealing with designing and placing the KamFest festival in the old part of the medieval city center. The main purpose was to design the festival place and city center to correspond with each other. Here we are showing the results of the workshop which was organized by the group Štajn, Municipality of Kamnik, Agency for development of Tourism Kamnik and Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana. more…

Student of Academy of Design, Ljubljana, Žiga Volk with his FlexAholic shelves received the Production Design 2010 award at the Mikser 2010, “Ghost Project”. The great advantage of the patented modular system Fl3xAholic is its flexibility. The console construction is made out of modular elements which are designed to adapt to the profile of the wall and to enable diverse depths and length of the shelf. The product is elegant with clean lines; it can be easily incorporated into diverse interiors of different styles. more…

When in the evening news the journalist announced: »Bench is a history – its time for urban sun chairs« it was obvious – a bench is no longer no.1 item when it comes to discussion about public space equipment. Ljubljana is getting a new hedonistic town with urban sun chairs designed by Ivana Antolović, CEO of Institute of urban lifestyle. more…

Exhibition opening: 29.6.2010 at 19.00 (Exhibition opened till 29.7.2010)
Venue: Gallery Hiše arhitekture, Vegova 8, Ljubljana
Organizer: Zbornica za arhitekturo in prostor Slovenije (Chamber of Architecture and Spatial Planning of Slovenia), Hiša arhitekture (House of Architecture) more…

The Container Architecture Exhibition is the world’s first of its kind. Offering an insight into one of architecture’s youngest branches, it showcases the most high-profile realized ISO-container projects from all over the globe and clearly demonstrates the wide variety of uses containers can be put to, from temporary constructions to public buildings and housing arrangements. more…

Serbian architectural group 4of7 has completed the polycentric ceiling prototype two weeks ago in Belgrade at the Mixer design Expo. Originally, the project started as a competition entry for the Serbian Pavilion at 12th Venice Biennale of Architecture. more…

The winning proposal at the competition for the New Zagreb Crafts Centre in Croatia was announced recently by the Association of Architects of Zagreb. The authors of the project, Vedran Pedišić, Mladen Hofmann (SANGRAD architects), Emil Špirić and Erick Velasco Farrera (AVP_arhitekti) presented an introverted island organized around the central public communications and spaces. more…

Carme Pinos
May 14 saw Zavod Big host its third annual international architectural conference. Photographer Primož Korošec created portraits – between lectures – of our widely respected guest speakers.
See all of the portraits here. more…

Was it the beginning or the end of an era? Are we going to long remember it or try to forget it fast? Was its bigness and iconic flamboyance inspiring or discouraging? Was its main virtue welfare or crisis, progressive inventiveness or decadent proliferation? Was it mostly good or bad, nice or sad? more…

Exhibition opening: 1. 6. 2010 at 19.00 (Exhibition opened till 11. 6 .2010)
Venue: Hiše arhitekture, Vegova 8, Ljubljana
Organizer: Zbornica za arhitekturo in prostor (Chamber of Architecture and Spatial Planning of Slovenia) , Hiša arhitekture (House of Architecture)
more…

From  May 25 to 29 Belgrade hosted 2nd Mikser, regional festival of creativity and innovation. Belgrade’s industrial zone of Dorcol, at the Žitomlin warehouse by the Danube river was transformed into a place of creativity, where works of  designers and artists from all around the Balkans were shown. more…

Blackbox is space with a completely controlled atmosphere with no relation with the outside world in which you are not aware of the time passing.For the whole interior design authors strived to create a strong conceptual identity around the theme of the Blackbox, defining all the elements that make up the whole, the logo, the furniture and the entire interior context. more…

Competition project for one-family house in Podjunska Street, Ljubljana, 2007

Enota’s exhibition »Natural Systems« will be presented in architectural gallery DESSA in Ljubljana. Exhibition is a selection of twelve projects from recent years. Six built and six yet unbuilt projects differ in scale, programme and are set in different environments. more…

See you tonight at Trg Ajdovscina, for the first City Blog opening in the world!

Zavod Big presents a very new iniciative – CITY BLOG;  a platform to express new ideas and social comments of designers, architects, artists and all inovative people with bold ideas from around the region. The title of the first CITY BLOG is »Architecture meets people, People meet architecture«. Authors present a patchwork of experiences of the space, by one painter, one designer and one architect.

authors of the first City Blog’s display: CYP2C9

On May 14 Zavod Big hosted its third annual international architectural conference.
Here are some impressions from the event. More lately this week. more…

Together with its flagship publication HIŠE magazine, Zavod Big repeats its unique architectural competition and exhibition event, the Innovative and Excellence Awards. Houses of the World Exhibition assembles and recognizes a selection of the best residential architecture being practiced all over the world today. You can see the selection of 45 beautiful houses of the whole world at Krakovski nasip in Ljubljana. more…

As a part of Big Architecture 2010 Zavod Big organized Stage 180˚ about wooden houses. Interesting lectures about “What makes a good wooden house” by architects producers and other experts were in Cankarjev dom on May 12.
If you missed them, check the website for videolectures lately this week. more…

The Lakeside House project is thoughtfully placed in its environment and it sensibly uses its. natural habitat. Accomplished architecture is enhanced by use of recycled materials for insulation, and smart inner plan helps to reduce energy consumption. more…

Townhouse project by Elding Oscarson has been incredibly smartly adapted to very limited conditions of the site. The architects, however, managed to design an aesthetically, functionally and ecologically very special an unique house.

more…

In May 2010 Zavod Big hosts its third annual international architectural festival Big architecture with 3 events, 3 stories on 3 locations: 180˚Stage; May 12 at Cankarjev dom, Architectural conference “Transformation”; May 14 at Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Center and Hiše Awards; architectural competition and exhibition event, May 14-31 at Krakovski nasip. more…

The architectural workshop Muljara, which was named after a large silos for mud, was dealing with the transformation of the industrial complex in Zagreb’s one of the first cement factory. Authors tried to demonstrate that abandoned industrial landscapes could be seen as a valuable urban land. Location of Zagreb cement factory was demonstrated to be an interesting field of experimentation of new forms of life in the city. more…

In 2006, in Vitanje (North-Northeast Slovenia), a memorial center, dedicated to Herman Potočnik Noordung, pioneer of spaceflight, was established. The latest plans for Vitanje and Potočnik memorial site also include revitalizing of The Vitanje House of Culture grounds into KSEVT (Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies). Design for it is a joint project of notable Slovenian architect bureaus, uniting their efforts in AZZV (Architectural assiociation for Vitanje) – Bevk Perovič, Dekleva Gregorič, Ofis and Sadar + Vuga architect bureaus have all connected for a public tender and came out with the best solution. more…

New benches for Municipality of Ljubljana were selected at the project competition. The winners proposed integrated bench system that provides many opportunities for diverse ways of seating.
more…

1st Prize at Invited Competition for SISKA Shopping centre was given to ATP Architects and Engineers. The highly mixed district of SISKA on the northern edge of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana is in a process of transformation. With very good transport connections, the shopping centre is located precisely at the point of entry to the city and, together with the other buildings on the site, will assume the role of a gateway to Ljubljana. more…

Metamechanics is the leading principle of Primož Oberžan’s work. As the founder of music group “The Stroj” he’s been building imaginary sound mechanisms (compositions) and is constructing original sound machines. more…

Lena Krušec, Tomaž Krušec and Vid Kurinčič, the authors of the new building housing the Ljubljana Biotechnical Faculty, are the winners of the Plečnik Award for 2010, the most prestigious award for architecture in Slovenia, which is given out annually by the Jože Plečnik Fund. The building is constructed within a large area in which various buildings of the Biotechnical Faculty are positioned as pavilions among groves of fruit trees. The building is a functional and conceptual continuation of the existing faculty complex. more…

At the flood of excentric clothes and wild patterns it’s refreshing to come across a fashion label that offers quality materials and elegant design. Matevž Faganel’s vision and expirience are the basis of m*faganel label. more…

22nd april – 14th May 2010: House of Architecture, Vegova 8, Ljubljana
You are cordially invited to the opening of the exhibition on Thursday, 22nd april 2010 at 8 PM at House of Architecture. more…

In Istanbul, Turkey, Headquarters for a Turkish fashion house Vakko and Power Media (Turkey’s equivalent of MTV) has been completed recently. The project for the building was adapted to the site of an unfinished and abandoned hotel. Creating an exceptional new headquarters was critical to maintaining Vakko/Power’s public image; yet, absorption of the clumsy, existing structure of the hotel was impossible to hide given the time constraints. REX therefore proposed to make the glass façade as thin and immaterial as possible, such that the existing hotel skeleton is exposed, not hidden. more…

The new Lent-Tabor footway and bicycle bridge in Maribor, Slovenia, was selected to be the best solution at the international competition. Spanish architects Francisco Burgos & Ginés Garrido / BGAA proposed a solution that does not compete with Maribor’s Stari Most, the city’s Old Bridge. It rather bows to its formidable presence. They therefore proposed a structure that in a way is a complement to the Old Bridge. more…

The famous design epicenter in Milan, Superstudio Piu, will be spiced up again with gently rebellious tunes as Nika Zupanc enters the newest take of the Salone del mobile with her own universe of objects and statements.

more…

The inspiration for the fashion story told by a fashion brand Farandula – the project and the idea of two friends, Mateja Krofl, the designer and Tinka Domjan, the manager – through its new 2010 Spring-Summer collection, derives from the visual aesthetics of so-called women movies of the renowned German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. As homage to extravagant elegance and subtle madness acted out and lived by the women in his movies, Farandula’s collection Mirrors and Dolls is permeated with Fassbinder’s principle of complex womanhood, which through its extreme performance and stylistically unique image, oscillates between the concept of heroine and antiheroine.

more…

Srečko Molk’s passion for wood and desire to discover all about wood carving have lead him to creating a truly great-unique jewellery. more…

The winning proposal at the international competition for the New UGM – Maribor Art Gallery in Slovenia was announced few days ago at the Association of Architects of Maribor. The Hungarian team with Tamás Lévai and Ágnes Jószai was selected to present the best solution of the gallery spaces. more…

IVANKA Studio and Concrete Company (www.ivanka.hu) – after its successful debut at last year’s Milan Design Week SaloneSatellite 2009 event with the award winning project of ’AFTERLIFESTYLE’ SEEYOU Gravestone (www.afterlifestyle.com) – will represent this year the progressive Hungarian design at three exhibitions organized at the two main venues of the design festival: Fiera Milano and Zona Tortona. more…

Ostblock is a fashion store in Zürich with an interesting concept: there you’ll find Eastern European designers like Nadia Nurieva (Russia), Rozalb de Mura (Romania), Aleksandra Wisniewska (Poland/Switzerland), Dora Mojzes (Hungary), Je Suis Belle (Hungary), Nioka( Slovenia) and other. While the shop does not sell nostalgic Communist-era items, it does provide a comprehensive selection, reflecting modern Eastern European fashion. more…

“FOOD AND SMOKE” is an artistic performance, an independent project on the topic of food presented by The Golden Thigh art collective (Katja and Nataša Skušek, Mladen Stropnik). more…

Interview with Ana Zadnik – a car designer at Renault. more…

This project refers to the design of a housing complex in the suburbs of Thessaloniki, Greece. The 700 m2 plot is steeply sloped and has unobstructed view towards the west. The complex is comprised by three discreet building volumes. Buildings A and B are situated on the western part of the plot whereas the larger building C is placed in the southeastern part of the plot. This placement enables the maximum exploitation of the view and the slope of the plot. more…