UGM- Maribor_Slovenia (2010)

UGM City!

GENERAL IDEA

The area for New UGM is a borderland between New andOld town of the city Maribor. The idea of a project is to mix, combine and joinqualities of both of these structures. Our project takes what's the best from the natural city's structure –itsromantic and smooth shape of the Old Town, the naturalness of the historiclayers and the rational, modern part of the city. While observing the city weanalyzed the structure and network of urban public spaces. In our project wecreated a set of spaces which bind New UGM into the urban tissue. The wholearea, as a sequence of popular spaces becomes an individual unit for varioususes. It is a space where a number of events, performances and happenings willhave the opportunity to take place, and where a huge number of spectators willbe able to gather.

The aim of our project is to accelerate urban pulse inthat area. In our proposal New UGM should be considered as a part ofeducational-cultural campus consisting of linked spots on the map of Maribor. Weexpand the design area, overlapping also marketplace and old UGM squaretreating them like one entire public space.

In the project we use idea of urban tissue,combination of open and closed spaces, using a scheme of mediaeval city. Allfunctions of UGM can find their counterparts in mediaeval city’s structure:city hall, shops, services, streets, courtyards, market.

Space of art - exhibition space is ‘sacrum’ of ourdesign –it takes a role of cathedral. This statement is expressed in the form –the exhibition rooms are placed in a lifted form which becomes a symbol of theNew UGM in Maribor’s panorama.