Ljubljana – My City project

Renovation of building shells of buildings with the status of cultural heritage

The lecturer Karl Pollak, an arhitect and urban planner, will present »Ljubljana– My City project«, a project that has been ongoing since 1989 and includes the implementation of the renovation of building shells of monumentally important buildings. The motivation behind »Ljubljana - My City project« was the preparations for the 1991 World Designer’s Conference (ICSID 91), at which time the Municipality decided that rather than contribute to the customary glamour of such occasions it would be better to contribute funds to improving the city itself. At that time, a complete renovation was already underway in Ljubljana, where several buildings were renovated and plans for the revitalization of the old city core area were being prepared. However, the renovation then stalled due to social changes and denationalisation, the abolition of systemic funding sources and high refurbishment prices. Simultaneous with the restoration of individual important mansions and other buildings as part of the project they were also arranging public areas. In addition to that, the City of Ljubljana is also doing away with architectural obstacles which prevent wheelchair users and other disabled persons, including the blind and partially sighted, from moving around the city and having access to individual buildings. The project is still active but is now known under a different name. By restoring facades and roofs, arranging an open urban space - squares, streets and embankments, and eliminating architectural barriers, the city of Ljubljana follows the development flows of western European cities - although not with a complete renovation, which is virtually impossible to implement in our environment due to the fragmentation of ownership and lack of system resources. Nevertheless, the city is becoming not only more friendly to the inhabitants, but also more attractive for investments, the development of tourism, congress industry, etc. There is also a growing awareness of the importance and value of cultural heritage buildings.

Karel Pollak is an architect and urban planner that works at the spatial planning department within the City Municipality of Ljubljana. He has been running the project "Ljubljana - My City" for more than 25 years, and has been involved in many other tasks in the area of regulation and use of public spaces.

You are kindly invited to the presentation and the discussion that will follow. More info at info@uirs.si.