After reading through a recent ArchDaily post on a sublimely simple farewell chapel, I hopped on over to architecture firm Arhitektura Krušec’s website. As I was perusing, I noticed that their work seemed to be a delightful cross between what I think of as characteristically Russian and Scandinavian architecture.
Russian architecture to me always evokes images of the late Stalinist period – cold, brutal and boxy – while a mention of Scandinavia whisks me back to Alvar Aalto’s early days – those curvy bastions of early modernism, with their rich materials and wealth of wood.
Mix those two together and, in my head at least, you might come up with something like the Biotechnical Faculty building in Ljubljana. And perhaps that is a rather accurate depiction of what happened, as the architects had to work with the existing context of the University’s campus.
The ranges of texture in the building’s facade rescue it from what could otherwise be a rather brusque front. Seen from afar, the concrete pillars create a somewhat playful pattern, while the wood bands just beg to be touched.
While it may not have been intentional, the building seems to be a metaphor for biotechnical work. The lights in the lobby, in addition to creating a wonderful pattern, could be the delicate tendrils of a plant (or the embryonic sacs from a future world, if you prefer the sci fi route). The framed views of the hallways mimic looking down through the lenses of a microscope, gazing at some miniscule portion of plant matter.
Head on over to their website to check out some of their other, even better projects. I’m quite fond of the pilates center.
[ images via Arhitektura Krušec ]
