Plečnik House Reopens

Ljubljana, 23 September - The home of Jože Plečnik (1872-1957), long a museum showcasing the master architect's work and personal life, will reopen on Wednesday after two years of renovation.

Ljubljana
The renovated Plečnik House in Korunova Street.
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA

Ljubljana
The renovated Plečnik House in Korunova Street.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA

Ljubljana
The renovated Plečnik House in Korunova Street.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
File photo

Ljubljana
The renovated Plečnik House in Korunova Street.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA

Ljubljana
The renovated Plečnik House in Korunova Street.
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA

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The centrepiece of the house has always been the architect's quirky architectural solutions and interior design elements.

Now there will also be a new permanent exhibition that puts Plečnik side-by-side with contemporary masters such as Le Corbuseir or Frank Lloyd Wright, according to Ana Porok, a custodian at the Museums and Galleries of Ljubljana.

His landmark works in Vienna, Prague and Ljubljana will be presented, with a special room set aside for his work in the Slovenian capital.

While Plečnik did a lot of work across the city, many of his ideas have never been realised. A special section will therefore be dedicated to this segment of his work.

The visitors will also get to explore the blueprints of some of Plečnik's most famous works, and models of detailed features that he used in his buildings.

Aside from the architecture, the "boutique museum" will present Plečnik as a person and his life story, as well as chalices and chairs that he designed.

Plečnik lived in the house in Karunova Street in Trnovo from the 1920s to his death and created some of his most celebrated works there.

The curators made sure to preserve Plečnik's spirit, including by putting his personal belongings where he used to keep them.

His signature hat will be on a desk, his shoes at the foot of the desk. Cabinets are full of his books and decorative objects, according to Porok.

One thing that remains unchanged is how visitors can view the house. Only small groups can enter but they have to arrange visits with the museum in advance.

The permanent exhibition, meanwhile, will be available during regular opening hours of the museum.

The Plečnik house has been a museum since 1972, a year after his heirs donated it to the city.

Plečnik is considered Slovenia's most important architect and he has had a huge impact on Ljubljana.

His major works include the iconic Triple Bridge and the entire embankment of the Ljubljanica in that part of town, the National and University Library, and the Ljubljana Open Market.

He also created numerous churches, not only in Ljubljana but also elsewhere in Slovenia as well as Vienna and Belgrade.

His last major work is the conversion of Križanke from a monastery to an open-air theatre in 1952-1956.

Plačnik's style is associated with the Vienna Secession, a type of Art Nouveau, but he also borrowed generously from classical architecture.

A celebrated architect during his lifetime, he nevertheless fell out of favour with the authorities during communist times, as a catholic and author of many sacral buildings.

In the past several decades architects and scholars alike have reaffirmed his status as Slovenia's pre-eminent architect whose work places him among the most important architects globally.

Sept 23, 2015, 07:00 sm/tv/gj