Villa “Old oaks”, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2003-2008) Photo: Tomaz Gregoric 10 Office, store & shop container Trata, Slovenia (2007-2009) Photo: Tomaz Gregoric Dot envelope, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2006-2008) Photo: Tomaz Gregoric
alternatively we create a strong contrast. We try to make our architecture different, original. Why does everything in this world have to be global and international? Although our starting point is modernistic, we like to add traditional Alpine materials like wood or slate, and to use architectural features that are typical of farmhouses in the Alpine part of Slovenia. Using these materials and architectural elements serves both beauty and functionality. The Alpine climate is cool, with strong winds and quite a bit of snow in winter. Those are the conditions a building has to deal with there. In the south of Slovenia the climate is much warmer and Mediterranean, so there our main concern is to provide shade and ventilation. This approach of turning to traditional architecture for ways of dealing with the climate stems from our affinity with the Slovenian architect Pleˇ cnik, who began using traditional elements in his buildings when the rest of the architectural world was completely occupied with modernism.” Rok: “It is important to have some kind of identity. National borders are disappearing, we have the same money all over most of Europe. Slovenia didn’t have its own banknotes until after the breakup of Yugoslavia; they were beautiful but they only lasted for about ten years! We were isolated and less developed than Western Europe, but that had an advantage: we were less affected by the crude functionalism of commercial architecture and were able to go our own way. In recent years this unique position has been under threat. Slovenians are too easygoing about giving up their own identity. Beautiful old houses, farms and villages are being destroyed. We, on the other hand, try to embed features of traditional architecture into our own architecture – not just to remind people of the past, but also because they are very functional. This doesn’t apply only to our work in Slovenia. We always look at the vernacular architecture when we do commissions in other countries such as France or Finland.” - Influences of both Ple ˇcnik and Le Corbusier, two antithetical architects, are evident in the work of Ofis Architects. What did you learn from them? Rok: “Our work is not intentionally based on their architecture, but you are right, it has a touch of both. Le Corbusier understood very well how to create space. Pleˇ cnik was a master in creating interesting textures. His designs were full of quotations, of small or large fragments of existing sources.” Špela: “I think Pleˇ cnik was an architect who went his own way. He did what interested him without bothering about the functionalism that was sweeping architecture all around the world. Some people called him conservative because of his references to classical architecture, but I think that is a superficial view his work. He took whatever he considered relevant, vernacular elements and even stones he found at the site, and combined them in a very free, personal way. I admire him a lot. His approach to architecture played an important part in our training at the University of Ljubljana.” - How do you see the future of your practice? Rok: “We are just at the start, just warming up. It’s as though we are waiting at the front door of what we really would like to do and we haven’t managed to get through it yet. We have already finished a lot of projects and their quality isn’t bad, but architecture in Slovenia doesn’t give much scope for expression. We feel we have the potential to do so much more.” Honeycomb Apartments, Izola, Slovenia (2003-2005) Photos: Tomaz Gregoric Ofis Architects 11