Contrasts and opportunity. Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović
17/09/2021.
[Ljubljana] Slovenia
metalocus, VALERIA OZUNA
metalocus, VALERIA OZUNA
The Islamic religious and cultural center of Ljubljana, the capital and largest city of Slovenia, designed by the Bevk Perović arhitekti studio, is located in an area close to the city center, yet full of contrasts, in a fragile undeveloped state.
The program consists of a building for a religious school, a building for a cultural and office program, an apartment building for community employees, a restaurant, and a mosque, the first mosque to be built in Slovenia.
The program consists of a building for a religious school, a building for a cultural and office program, an apartment building for community employees, a restaurant, and a mosque, the first mosque to be built in Slovenia.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović. Photograph by David Schreyer.
Site plan. Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović.
Ground floor plan. Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović.
Section. Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović.
Project concept scheme. Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović.
Project concept scheme. Ljubljana Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre by Bevk Perović.
The volumes designed by Bevk Perović arhitekti are placed as autonomous entities, separated from each other, where the central area that articulates them is the square with the mosque.
With a simple character, always oriented towards the exterior, the volumes that make up the religious center generate a fluid and clear panorama, where a series of openings and spaces serve as an extension of the prayer space to the outside.
With a simple character, always oriented towards the exterior, the volumes that make up the religious center generate a fluid and clear panorama, where a series of openings and spaces serve as an extension of the prayer space to the outside.
Description of project by Bevk Perović
The ‘specificity’ of the new location for the Islamic Religious and Cultural Centre is precisely its complete lack of ‘specificity’ – an area that is near the city centre, but abandoned and forgotten, in a fragile undeveloped state, with an uncertain urban future. Much like its historical predecessors – the case of Sarajevo mosques during 19th century being a nearby example, where mosque complexes – built by rich donors – were the starting points, the ‘seeds’ for the development of the new parts of the city, the new complex becomes one such thing for this part of Ljubljana.
The programme of the centre consists of a religious school building, a cultural and office programme, an apartment building for the employees of the community, a restaurant, as well as the mosque, the first one to be built in Slovenia, all of them supported by car parking in the basement.
The new buildings of the centre are positioned as separate entities, autonomous buildings surrounding the central square area with a mosque in the centre of it. They are simple volumes, oriented always towards the ‘outside’ world with their respective programmes, simultaneously surrounding the mosque building and allowing views towards it form all sides through the gaps in-between them.
The mosque, sitting on and opening fully towards the square to allow for extension of the prayer space on the outside during large gatherings of congregation, is the central element of the new complex. Rather than following obvious historical precedents, as well as the recent iconographically obvious examples, it is conceived as a steel structure – a 32/32/24 metre box constructed of 1-meter (45cm) deep and only 2 (8cm) centimetre thick steel latticework, filled with white concrete on the lower part, and transparent glass on the upper part, allowing for the sun to flood the interior space.
The cupola – the central element of the mosque – rather than topping the space, hangs suspended within its interior. As a representation of the sky in historical examples – it is made of transparent blue textile, the flimsiest and most fragile of materials, the material which in Islam has a long and rich history – starting from the Kiswah of Kaaba to the portable tent-mosques of Iran.
More information
Architects
Project team
Matija Bevk, Vasa J. Perović, Andrej Ukmar, Christophe Riss, Ida Sedušak, Irene Salord, Tina Marn, Blaž Goričan, Rok Gerbec, Urban Petranovic, Radim Louda, Josef Kalčik, Tomas Holub, Davorin Počivašek, Maša Kovač.
Dates
Completion of design.- 2017. Year completed.- 2020.
Location
Džamijska ul. 10, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Photography
Vasa J. Perović, Matija Bevk. Bevk Perović Arhitekti
In 1997, Vasa J. Perović and Matija Bevk founded Bevk Perović arhitekti in Ljubljana, Slovenia. They work, alongside with the international team of 15 young architects, on a diverse range of projects, in different European countries.
Since its beginnings the studio received wide international recognition. They have been awarded numerous national and international prizes (European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Emerging Architect Award in 2007, Kunstpreis Berlin in 2006, Piranesi Award in 2005, 5 Plečnik Prizes for best building of the year in Slovenia, 4 Golden Pencil awards by the Chamber of Architects, Prešeren Prize, the highest national prize for culture, awarded by the President of the Republic of Slovenia in 2005,etc)
Bevk Perović arhitekti have recently won a few large international competitions – the competition for Refubrishment of Drama theatre in Ljubljana, the competition for Neue Galerie und Kasematten / Neue Bastei in Wiener Neustadt as well as the competition for Highrise Apartment Building Nordbahnof in Vienna, Austria.
The work of the office has been published extensively in most important international publications (monographic issue El Croquis, titled 'Conditionalism', Spain, 2012; monographic issue A+U, September 2013,Tokyo; AV Proyectos 084: Dossier Bevk Perović, December 2017, etc).
They exhibit their work extensively, and recent solo exhibitions of their work have been organized in Kunstverein Bielefeld, Germany; Fragner Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic, and Sa Cova, Girona, Spain.
The work of Bevk Perović arhitekti is characterized by continuous research into programmes and possibilities of their reinterpretations in contemporary architectural practice.
In order to understand and comprehend their work, one must examine their ‘dedicated choice’ to follow conditions in which a building emerges. These conditions range from political and social, to environmental and material - their simple, yet complex architectural solutions strive to answer those conditions beyond bare function.
Since its beginnings the studio received wide international recognition. They have been awarded numerous national and international prizes (European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Emerging Architect Award in 2007, Kunstpreis Berlin in 2006, Piranesi Award in 2005, 5 Plečnik Prizes for best building of the year in Slovenia, 4 Golden Pencil awards by the Chamber of Architects, Prešeren Prize, the highest national prize for culture, awarded by the President of the Republic of Slovenia in 2005,etc)
Bevk Perović arhitekti have recently won a few large international competitions – the competition for Refubrishment of Drama theatre in Ljubljana, the competition for Neue Galerie und Kasematten / Neue Bastei in Wiener Neustadt as well as the competition for Highrise Apartment Building Nordbahnof in Vienna, Austria.
The work of the office has been published extensively in most important international publications (monographic issue El Croquis, titled 'Conditionalism', Spain, 2012; monographic issue A+U, September 2013,Tokyo; AV Proyectos 084: Dossier Bevk Perović, December 2017, etc).
They exhibit their work extensively, and recent solo exhibitions of their work have been organized in Kunstverein Bielefeld, Germany; Fragner Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic, and Sa Cova, Girona, Spain.
The work of Bevk Perović arhitekti is characterized by continuous research into programmes and possibilities of their reinterpretations in contemporary architectural practice.
In order to understand and comprehend their work, one must examine their ‘dedicated choice’ to follow conditions in which a building emerges. These conditions range from political and social, to environmental and material - their simple, yet complex architectural solutions strive to answer those conditions beyond bare function.
