Programme research for the Academy of Fine Arts on Erjavčeva Street in Ljubljana

To address the space constraints and modernise the three academies, the University of Ljubljana examined several scenarios, held several competitions and tested several content concepts. Until 2014, the prevailing decision was to merge the three educational institutions into a common building on a common site. The synergy of different artistic disciplines, which have the opportunity and the incentive to create simultaneously and in relation to each other, was at the same time confronted with the fact that it is not possible to provide a suitable location for such a large building in the inner city. In agreement with the state, the university plans to build on the eastern edge of the city centre, on the site of the former Rog barracks. The predominantly residential area has developed over the last 20 years into a vibrant neighbourhood, infused with modern architecture. The accessibility of this part of the city is by no means poor, but it still has a rather peripheral character, despite the gradual expansion of central activities to the east. Concerns have been raised among several users of the shared building of the three academies as to whether the new location will enable the academies to pursue their mission of extending culture into the wider urban environment, linking with the city’s cultural space and maintaining social visibility and relevance. To this end, and taking into account the fact that some key partial sites for individual academies have become available in the city centre, the Academy of Fine Arts commissioned a spatial study to examine the location of the required programme at the existing site on Erjavčeva Street. Expansion would only be possible if the Academy’s programme could also occupy the land of the local theatre studios of the SNG Drama and Opera.

A central design principle was to provide the client with a fluid, flexible and robust space that would encourage communication and collaboration between the College’s different departments. Due to the constant technological and content development of artistic disciplines, it is crucial that the planned building can be continuously adapted, changing the relationships between the different spaces for creation and teaching, while maintaining its visibility, integrity and connection to the street space. This is because artistic creation should be in constant dialogue with the public space of the city, both in a physical and representational sense. The diverse student population, which crosses Erjavčeva Street every day on its way into the city from the student dormitory in Rožná dolina, can step into the café, gallery and open ground floor of the Academy at any time, even in the evening.

The design is compact, with all the rooms arranged in a necklace around a central atrium, which is lit from above by natural light. The atrium provides good quality lighting and natural ventilation for all rooms. The concept of natural ventilation has been verified by CFD analysis, with air entering the building through large façade chambers, where the air is moderated and partially tempered. Large air vents are located on the atrium roof, and the air flow is automated, adapting to occupancy, time of day, outside temperature and outside air speed.

Authors: BLENKUŠ Matej; CIMPERMAN Katja; FLORIJANČIČ Miloš; CVETREŽNIK Anja; KOŠAK Dominik; STAUDACHER Rok; BARTOL Ambrož