Idrija
The old bowling alley on Rožna ulica, where members of the Škafar Bowling Club once trained and won, has been abandoned and fenced off with a high fence for more than a decade. What used to be a place of community gathering was now just an overgrown thicket. When the bowling alley was abandoned, trees grew on the site, among them hornbeams and maples, and cherries and rings grew on the edge of the park. The need proper public space rose among the residents and architects and thus a collective renovation process began.
In half a year, the space was transformed into a new local park. The park is not yet lit, and instead of public lighting, this year the park was illuminated by a sculpture by Slovenian artist Luka Savić As in heaven, so on earth. The sculpture explores the boundary between the visible and the invisible as well as the material and the spiritual. The motive for the handshake is both an act of harmony and a gesture that unites heaven and earth. The sculpture arrived in Idrija from the largest British festival of light art, Light Night Leeds.
Of all the changes that have transformed the space, only one is really important: the bowling alley has once again become a public space. Now the park opens towards Rožna ulica, and at the same time a new view opens up towards the Nikova stream and Lapajnetova ulica. The park is now passable and transparent, and the trees and greenery allow the right amount of intimacy so that visitors to the space are not too exposed. The space is suitable for socializing, playing and smaller events. Time and use will show which bench is the best, and new ideas for the old bowling alley are already being born among the residents and architects who encouraged the renovation of the park.
University Medical Center Ljubljana:
The coronavirus epidemic completely changed the functioning of the University Clinical Center of Ljubljana. Medical staff report high workloads and psychological distress. Visits inside clinics are prohibited or can only take place outdoors. Despite the pronounced need for public green spaces in the area, the situation on the ground is completely different.
Due to uncontrolled parking, spontaneous arrangement of public space and ad hoc changes of the space, which are necessary due to the constant adaptation of health care institutions to the increasingly difficult health situation, public space in the area is in extremely poor condition. Both employees and patients deserve all the support in these difficult times, especially in the summer, when, in addition to fighting the epidemic, they will be battling rising temperatures in a congested and overheated area.
The project is set as urban acupuncture in the wider area of clinics of the University Clinical Center. KD Prostoroz has identified public and semi-public green spaces that still remain in the area of clinics, and proposed improvements in the identified areas for greater user comfort. Following this process, one of the locations has been renovated to improve the quality of this public space with the aim of fostering its communitary character.