international conference on the research of modern architecture
30 august - 1 september 2002 jyväskylä, finland
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NATAŠA KOSELJ MA, Architect, Researcher University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture email natasa.koselj @ siol.net »ARCHITECTURE OF THE 60s IN SLOVENIA« Introduction An universal concept of space, being present in the entire development of the architecture in the 20. century after Giedion, serves as a basis for the Slovene architecture of this period as well. Edvard Ravnikar1, the famous Slovenian architect from this period, following the example of Le Corbusier2, brought to Slovenia new concept of space, which was introduced into art by Cubism at the begining of the 20. century and transposed into architecture with the help of Le Corbusier. The main idea of this concept is a fourth dimension, i.e. Time, which is joined to the three already known dimensions of space. Taking into account dimensions of time and space, a former perspective view is dispersed into sequential views, supposedly giving more exact information on space. Ravnikar speaks about a rational demystification resulting from the introduction of time. »The old approach differs from the classical one in comprehending the spatial structural net and its furnishing with architectural details, whereas the modern approach differs from the classical one in looking for certain components and their interaction.«3 During the period 1945-70, the developement in Slovenia has proceeded from stiffness towards liveliness in political as well as in architectural sense. The socio-political developement moved from the restoration of the damage caused by the Second World War and centralised national government (1945-50) towards the gradual opening of borders to the West, the transformation of the national government into a labourers' and social self-management (»socialist democracy«), the introduction of competitions (1950-60) and the wide-spread construction according to modified patterns and the principles of market economy (1960-70). The changed socio-political orientation of the country which developed from a communist to consumer society, demanded new types of architecture particularly in terms of office buildings, shopping complexes, holiday resorts and large-scale residental architecture (neighbourhood units). This was also a period of the arrival of the fourth generation of Slovenian architects, which in fact was the first generation educated after the Second World War. By means of conferences, exhibitions and public competitions, this generation has vigorously shaken the Slovene architectural scene. Therefore, the period between 1955-60 may be considered as a turning point in Slovene architecture of the 20. century. The Placement of Volumes in Space The development is clearly discernible on the example of housing constructions, starting with stiff single blocks of flats (E.g. blocks of flats for workers around the Litostroj factory, Ljubljana, 1948, designed by Edvard Mihevc), followed by livelier compositions (E.g. Campus in Rožna dolina, Ljubljana, 1948, designed by Edvard Ravnikar), and single skyscrapers or groups of them (E.g. skyscrapers around Roška Street, Ljubljana, 1957-61, designed by M.Mihelic and I. Arnautovic; a skyscraper on Štefanova Street, Ljubljana, 1958, designed by Edvard Ravnikar), and ending in designing more dynamic combinations of neighbourhood units (E.g. SŠ-6, Ljubljana, 1963) and even richer string-compositions regarding volume (E.g. Ferantov vrt, Ljubljana, 1966-68, designed by E. Ravnikar), announcing the come back of urban block. The same development can be followed in the field of designing schools. The stiff volume of schools built before the War was enlivened by a system of school construction without corridors4, which was developed by Emil Navinšek (Textile Technical School, Kranj, 1955-58), and by a system of low pavilions, setting in a park volumes linked with each other, designed by Danilo Fürst (Primary School Stražišce, Kranj, 1953-59). An even better example depicting this developement is the constructing of the complex Trg Republike (The Republic Square), where the decomposition of Le Corbusier's stiff concept of an open space, with objects placed apart from each other and of monumental ideas of irrational height and a pronounced axis of perspective (as was in the competition proposal in 1960), is followed by space with uncountable perspectives, by space full of surprises, preserving the »elevated« atmosphere despite of being low. The structural grid of the square is a triangle or a hexagon, and demands a composition more resembling a natural one than an usual rectangular cross-hatch. With combining hexagons, Ravnikar achived a dynamic structural net, serving as a basic thought in his concept of surpassing the available space. The form of a hexagon5, which Ravnikar often includes in his concepts, is also used in the interiors of buildings as perforation of iron supports (E.g. the interior of Nova Ljubljanska Banka) and was very popular with other architect in the 60s as an ornamental motif. The reason for the popularity of this »fractal« structure in Slovenia can also be found in the topography and geology of the local landscape, whose hilly character (Alps), composition of terrain and dynamism of space contain these forms at their micro and macro level. The Separation of the Outside and Inside Space The concepts of a facade can be solved in different ways which depend on the concept of construction, and have a common idea of transparency of space, expanding from a window to a whole wall. It is interesting to follow the transformation of the facade on the example of public architecture, although this transformation is to be found in housing construction as well.6 Changes in the concepts of facade appear in Slovenia at the same time as the architecture of The International Style. A common denominator of the office building Impex (1953-55), designed by Edo Mihevc, and of the building of Zadružna zveza (1954-55), designed by Emil Medvešcek, and of majority of the office buildings built at that time, is a transparent ground floor with the inside bearing construction. For the floor, Mihevc introduces Le Corbusier's longitudinal window, which gives the first example of a flat, horizontally accentuated facade, however, Medvešcek reduces the facade to an orthogonal net structure. Examples of completely transparent objects (with facades of iron and glass) follow this introduction, as for example the round pavilion Jurcek in Gospodarsko razstavišce (1960), designed by Marko Šlajmer and Festivalna dvorana at Bled (1960-61), designed by Ivo Spincic. The term »curtain wall« was introduced in Slovenia by architect Edo Mihevc, with his office building Metalka, where horizontal stripes of windows are followed by serially manufactured aluminous fillers of parapets. The term window was radically enlarged by architect Savin Sever who, on his office buildings Astra and Commerce (1963-70), equals the width of a window with the miniml width of an office, and visually eliminates the parapet on the facade. Encyclopedical extend of the term window is presented in Ravnikar's composition of The Republic Square. »Classical« windows in upper floors are included into the composition of the facade and linked with the composition of the facade of Plecnik's building nearby. Large display windows and light alcoves on the facade of the department store Maximarket serves as a reflection surface for baroque details of Uršulinska church on the opposite side. With vertically accentuated windows on the facades of both buildings and with accantuated rhythm of facades (»folding« of granite layers on the facade), it communicates with the facade of Slovene Parliament across the street.7 The efforts for establishing contacts with the influential past (reflecting of the baroque details of the church) with the present government (imitation of the rhytm on the facade of the Parliament), and with the natural spatial accents (directing views towards Ljubljana Castle and Krim mountain) and last but not least, the strong wind constantelly blowing in between the two scyscrapers are main characteristics defining the nature of this place. »The strenght of associations provoked by elements in space prepares the ground for a lyrical note in architecture.«8 Construction The tendency towards bridging large spans and the flexibility of ground plans result in various solutions regarding construction with reinforced concrete as the basic building material. A thin domical shell of the A-hall at Gospodarsko razstavišce (Ljubljana, 1958, Branko Simcic and al.) is among first constructions of this type in Slovenia. A unique solution of constructionl problems is the roof over the Hall of the town council in Kranj (Edvard Ravnikar, 1958-60), which is a folded shell and gives an impression of floating. In general, the bearing construction was moved from outer walls towards interior, and the role of the bearing facade was overtaken by pillars or bearing central parts which leeds to more flexible ground floors. Such constructional principle, advertised already by Le Corbusier's famous 5 points and introduced in USA by Mies van der Rohe, is a basic characteristic of all the objects adhering to The International Style. It was spread almost all over the world, together with the expansive American economy after the WW II. The first »office silo« of that kind is Mihevc's office building Metalka. In comparison to Metalka, which strictly follows the described constructional principle, both Ravnikar's skyscrapers on The Republic Square are interpretations of the type of a high office building with a triangular planned central part bearing the whole weight of the building and with the floors fastened into it as brackets.9 The principle of a bracket, reappearing in such a form or in different ones in most Ravnikar's buildings, is put here forward in his most daring variation. Comparing the constructional concept of the buildings of Edvard Mihevc and Edvard Ravnikar in the 60s in Ljubljana, it is obvious at first sight that both architects basically use the described generally accepted constructional principle. The difference lies in relation to this common base. Mihevc's supporting pillar varies according to the profile (round, rectangular) or the surface material (stone, ceramics, wood). The bearing construction is hidden behind the surface of the facade, which changes according to the board and the arrangement of window holes. Mihevc introduces the »international architecture« of right angles. Ravnikar keeps searching. His pillar changes into a pillar ending with a mushroom or into a pillar with knobs which open like umbrellas or fingers. The construction is pushing out to the facade and stires it up characteristically. Ravnikar works hard on combining, knitting a pillar and a ceiling, vertically and horizontally, a bearing construction with a board.10 A linking element is a diagonal. It can be said that Ravnikar's architecture is an architecture of diagonals. The construction was Ravnikar's basic fascination as well as for some of his followers. Moreover, the exposing of construction and including construction into the composition of a facade is, besides a characteristically formed corner (»sticked out« corner11), the main architectural expression of Ravnikar's school. Having this as their base, each of Ravnikar's students took his own way on the search for his own architectural expression: Oton Jugovec searched in the direction of experiment and inventiveness regarding details, Milan Mihelic sees a construction as the basic means of expression, Savin Sever constructs his objects with setting serially manufactured elements in a row, Stanko Kristl stresses graphical traits and looks for the limit of the minimal, and Miloš Bonca tries to find a classical language in architecture alongside with inventive architectural solutions. The Local Context of Universal and the Continuity of Idea The Slovene architecture grew ripe at the end of 50s and in the 60s. It took the same path as was shown by Alvar Aalto at the end of the 30s, this is the path of placing universal concepts and combining technical achivements with local characteristics. Besides, this was the time of setting the Slovene architecture consciously into the context of its past developement, with Edvard Ravnikar reminding us on this in a comperative article12. The developement of the Slovene architecture from the turn of the former century is devided into three parts: the first period, the period of Joze Plecnik's work in Slovenia, is defined as emotionally uncomplicated, flexible classicism and is followed by a period of toughness in technology and social solutions of the Slovene pre-war functionalism (partly of the post-war as well), and is again followed by a period of the synthesis of the human nature, technology and the Nature, taking into account the best things from the past developement in the 60. Although the perfect example for the synthesis of the human nature, technology and the Nature is the described complex of the Primary School Stražišce Kranj, designed by Danilo Fürst, it can be said, that the main part of the discussed period, when a contact with the past and with the environment was consciously established in Slovenia, was performed by Edvard Ravnikar. Ravnikar creatively approached the past Slovene architecture. On his very own way (based on advanced, scientific methods of modernism) but at the same time very classically (both typical for Plecnik as well), he superstructured the concept of typical Slovene architecture of 20. century. Both architects, Plecnik and Ravnikar, were mainly occupied by public (representative) architecture, in which every single inhabitant of Ljubljana and every single member of the Slovene nation finds his identity. When pointing out the common characteristics of both architects which define a locally coloured Slovene expression, taking into account principles of the development of the modern architecture, one should not forget the care they both take in working on details (designing of chandeliers, doorhandles and banisters) and in combining different materials (stone, brick), and above all, their own expressions of the embittered beauty, talking about the Slovene land and about the people living on its grounds. « CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS |
