The renovation of Mikloši? park in Ljubljana

Mikloši? park renovation evokes the archetypal memory of the space through spatial analysis and search for the refined art form. The project identifies the city park as a plane on which I intend to merge the two historical entities: a square and a park. I present three proposals, each of them representing a unique space, capturing the essence of time.

Mikloši? park plays an important role in Ljubljana as one of the key green spaces. Its role is not merely functional in providing peace and rest, but because of its historical value, it holds a great symbolic significance. With the purpose of renovation, the project travels through time and scale. Detailed historical analysis was performed, addressing the forces that directly or indirectly affected the park over time. Then followed the analysis of Mikloši? park today. The park today is defined as a niche in the street structure, surrounded by Art Noveau buildings and defined by large trees inside. Park and the buildings around it represent the most architecturally perfect space in this part of the city. Furthermore I have identified design guidelines, based on analysis and theory. The renovation should create a place for dwelling, a place of history, and an enhancement of the role of existing majestic trees. With guidelines in mind I began developing my concept, where I have identified Mikloši? park as a city plane, where two entities are manifested: a square and a park. There is a perceived duality in the park today since historical resources reveal that Mikloši? park was first designed as a square, but was later built as a park, and the duality is still present today. In designing the variants, I did not want to follow only one direction, but I designed the space in search for compromises of time layers and the constant search for the right relationships, both formally and conceptually. With the use of design tools, I tried to meet several criteria. I fragmented Mikloši? park into several pieces, which I then examined and put together in a new way. There are two ways, I combined the entity of a square and a park. Centralizing, where the buildings around that were designed as a part of a square, push the existing entity of the park; and Merging, where we see an unveiling of the square in front of the main building and around the statue. I present three proposals: The circle, The rectangular, and The Irregulars, all in reminisce of the past and in the gaze of the now and the future.