Report

Inner ring

Outer ring

Spa: Yoko Sano

Political City: Tina Jelenc

Slovinex: Changho Yeo

Park: Changho Yeo

Light Capital of Europe

The Berlage Institute was asked by the City of Ljubljana to prepare an independent view on the city’s urban development opportunities. A team of students supported by faculty members of the institute and external advisors were analyzing the city, researched issues such as development in the new EU capitals, new and old urban typologies, possible development scenarios and case studies of development mechanisms, with the aim of defining a series of specific strategies and projects for the city.

The thesis studio, spanning two semesters, was taught by Markus Schaefer, Hosoya Schaefer Architects (architecture) and Marijn Spoelstra, Mountainworks (development and financial consulting) and was interested in a collaborative and creative intersection between these two often separated disciplines.

In the course of the studio work workshops have been organized; one of them in Ljubljana on January 10, 2006 to which experts and interested professionals of the city had been invited.

The project is currently shown at the 10 th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice in the context of ‘Beyond Mapping’, the exhibition curated by the Berlage Institute in a section of the Italian Pavilion. An exhibition at the City Hall in Ljubljana, Mestni Trg 1, has been opened with a press conference by the mayor of Ljubljana, followed by a public discussion.

Public bath and spa: Yoko Sano

Process
With the independence of Slovenia in 1991, Ljubljana for the first time in its history became the capital of an independent nation state. In 2004, Slovenia joined the EU. With the impending adoption of the Euro in 2007 and the EU presidency in 2008, the city definitely seemed poised for profound change. Yet, contrary to maybe naïve expectations, the great boom did not happen. The development of the city is still characterized by projects that have not materialized and by plans not implemented. A recent study by Professor Janez Koželj listed almost 40 projects, from the small to the very ambitious, that have been planned, but not completed. The exceptions are the outer ring road, a project of national interest, and BTC, an entirely private project.

Ljubljana does not lack plans and visions, or talent to implement them. The current impasse cannot be solved by simply another plan. The approach adopted for this project was based therefore on the hypothesis that urban form is to a large degree a consequence of underlying economic, political, or legislative factors, a result of the physiology of the city rather than a perpetuation of its morphology, that urban form is contextual rather than autonomous. The physiology is composed of issues like land ownership, zoning laws, economy, or the relationships between market parties and the government.

Analysis

All of these were profoundly affected by the change from a planned economy to a free market that Slovenia underwent after 1991. The fact that the change in the case of Slovenia was from a ‘liberal communism’ with a large amount of independence from Belgrade to a fairly controlled market economy, a change from ‘grey to grey’ so to speak, makes the differences less noticeable, but the change not easier.

While in other locations, like for example Prague, Warsaw or even Moscow, the sudden possibility of commercial development and a simultaneous absence of stringent planning tools that would replace those of the former political system, resulted in manic growth, Ljubljana currently lacks the perceived potential to attract foreign investors or the critical mass to develop on its own. While the ‘free market’ implies laissez-fair, what is actually needed is careful strategic planning by and for the city. The current proposal therefore combines the vantage points of urbanism and development mechanisms. It starts with an analysis of the physiological layer of the city and ends with a strategy, a strategic plan and proposed projects.

Ultimately it is the aim to define a planning approach for cities, in this project called ‘scripting’, that works with strategies and projects, even including business plans, in order to give city authorities the ability to work through alternatives, define opportunities and set agendas in collaboration with other stakeholders outside the constraints of a master plan. Instead of simply managing growth, the city can become an active party with strategic interests and business sense, exerting control over ends, yet providing freedom and opportunity in terms of means.

Tivoli Corridor: Bin Kim

Having researched case studies, cities like Dublin , Bilbao , Den Hague or Bern , it became clear that successful cities always have both - a strategy and a stable alliance between a wide range of public, private and institutional parties to turn the strategy into reality.

Light Capital
Being a young capital is a unique opportunity. Capitals that had been formed during the spring of nations after 1848 were being equipped with rail roads, parliaments, national banks or simply new urban blocks. The current time, which is not as decidedly modern, raises the question whether the independence of Slovenia is ushering in a period of restoration or one of modernity, historical reflection or reinvention, with Ljubljana as a museum city, or as we propose a Light Capital.

Ljubljana does not have the critical mass to be a boom town nor is it embedded in a large metropolitan region despite its geopolitical importance. In order to be attractive as a destination on its own or as a bridge between Europe and the Balkan, the city needs to first define its profile and develop its potential in the context of Slovenia . The city is like a boutique that gains a profile through careful curation and strategic planning rather than mass or market.

Ring development: Changho Yeo

But the concept of Light Capital is not a reaction to a lack of mass alone.

With the shift from industrial production to information or services and the rise of the creative class the role of the city changes from one of industrial production to entertainment and leisure. Cities are essential hubs for cultural production in a time where culture and commerce by necessity are very close. New forms of representation have to be found for political life after ideology and increasing deregulation. Sustainability and synergy with other cities in the polycentric urban landscape of Slovenia are essential. Most importantly, new requirements and opportunities cities are currently experiencing should also result in new urbanity and urban imagination.

Transferium: Ryuta Ohori

Most cities have a golden period; a period in which everything that makes them work for decades afterwards is established. In the case of Ljubljana that period started with the earthquake of 1895 and ended in the Drava Banovina period. Propelled by the independence, EU participation and economic growth a new period of change could be postulated. In this transformation, Ljubljana could position itself as a model European capital where in a small and ‘light’ format the coexistence of politics, culture, commerce and leisure allow for a new experience of urbanity. This model could be positioned as a role model for other cities in the Balkan and as an alternative to established EU capitals.

Complementing and illustrating the strategy, a range of projects have been defined from infrastructural and urbanistic interventions, such as a new connection between Tivoli park and the city center, to specific buildings, such as an urban spa or a new government building.

This project is based on an external point of view despite the involvement of several persons and groups from Ljubljana . Hence it cannot provide concrete proposals. Yet, this view from outside gave us the freedom to propose and illustrate processes which could potentially lead to substantive and new solutions. Markus Schaefer

Contact for more information:

HOSOYA SCHAEFER Architects
Markus Schaefer
Reinhardstrasse 19
8008 Zürich
Switzerland

T. +41 (0)43 243 6313
F. +41 (0)43 243 6315
office@hosoyaschaefer.com
www.hosoyaschaefer.com

or directly:

Berlage Institute, Rotterdam
www.berlage-institute.nl