Municipal centre with protection and rescue centre Trzin

Slovenian settlements are divided into three key types. The first group are those where continuous settlement, and thus the centrality of settlement formation, can be traced back to the Middle Ages or even further back in history. These settlements are characterised by a clearly defined settlement centre, a historic building fabric and a legible urban structure, often unfortunately marred by unbalanced and stochastic growth. in the 20th and 21st century. The second group consists of settlements created during industrialisation on the basis of urban plans. Here, too, we can recognise the division of space into centre and periphery. Based on the prevailing modernist doctrine, these settlements are subject to the principle of strict zoning of urban functions, which has been eroded by the democratisation and individualisation of settlement over the last 40 years. The third group consists of settlements that have been created on the basis of newly established traffic flows, but without realising that the transport links will also bring with them the needs and ambitions for growth and development. In the period between 2. World War II and independence, the main generators of development were the railways and major national roads; in modern times, it is the motorway. Trzin is undoubtedly in the third group.

Aware of the pragmatism and the stichia that had led to the development of Trzin at the intersection of the Kamnik and Styrian regional roads, the municipality launched an extensive competition which, in addition to the construction of a new fire station, also set out the urban-architectural basis for the location of a community centre, a shopping centre, a market and a residential neighbourhood of collective construction. In other words, the municipality wanted to place a public programme, public amenities and, above all, public space in the fast-growing settlement of Trzin through this competition. How difficult this is in an era of promoting individual initiative, private property and liberal principles was demonstrated by the competition itself.

With the competition project for the Trnina Community Centre, we have pursued the municipality’s ambitious goal. Through a series of precisely and uniformly designed buildings for all intended purposes, the structuring of the public space and, finally, the design of the protection and rescue centre, we have given architecture the role of embodying spatial, settlement and municipal identity. We have taken the view that only a bold and ambitious pursuit of larger and more far-reaching goals can secure Trzin’s urban future. Otherwise, the construction of a fire station in the very centre of the settlement, i.e. a building entirely dedicated to intervention infrastructure, will continue the undeveloped and transit-oriented heritage of the dormitory and craft settlement. This is why – although perhaps illogically – the design of the central fire tower as the tallest building in the settlement is considered by the competition jury to have a “sacred” character. The competition solution is therefore not just about designing the best fire station, but above all about a position on settlement development and the formation of a complex notion of city-formation.

Authors: BLENKUŠ Matej, CIMPERMAN Katja, JAVORNIK Luka, CVETREŽNIK Anja, VALENČIČ Grega, REZAR Tadej, ŽELEZNIK Mateja, CIFER Aleksander, GAZVODA Matevž, STAUDACHER Rok