The new Maribor Art Gallery will become a gathering place for the inhabitants of Maribor, inadvertently raising their interest in the cultural and artistic production. At the same time its form will provide a dynamic setting for a contemporary cultural monument while creating an animated backdrop for the historical city center.The proposal will be a microcosm of the city, a showcase for new information & ideas, a place for thought, discussion and reflection, and most of all, a dynamic presence within the city. The form of the extended new Art Gallery will be clearly discernible by any visitor and will provide the flexibility required by the program. It will act as a major new civic building for the citizens and visitors of Maribor. The new buildings will provide a singular spatial experience, a striking physical presence that will include community spaces that seemingly integrate the built context without compromising their authenticity.
The proposed scheme is based on six crucial principals:
- The “city living room” (foyer) serves as a transitive place, a container of both the square’s public life and of the new Art Gallery’s display art. The new UGM is linked with the surrounding external spaces, acting as an accelerator of the urban pulse.
- The roof
The historical built context is abstracted and then reproduced in a new way both in form and material of the roof, creating a saddle affinity among them.At the same time, all the new buildings allow a game of light through their volumes. The rough epidermis of the roof, has horizontal openings that allow momentarily views of the sky and glimpses of the sun. Different spatial qualities through the use of light are achieved both inside and in between each of the building’s individual parts. The exhibition space openings are facing north so as to achieve indirect light, whereas the children’s museum and creative space areas openings are facing south.
- Variable separations & connections between spaces
The proposal is a scheme based on variety and adaptability. Each space dictated by the program is found on a different volume. On that way, an “empty” public space – foyer- is created between these volumes, promoting interaction of the visitors. This space attracts & distributes visitors within the building, and connects them directly to the square
- Flexibility: The proposed scheme allows for different arrangements of the exhibition space depending on current demands and/or curator’s visions
- Multi-function landscape as a Ground Arrangement:
Foyer-Square: the buildings on the north side of the street E form the square and interconnect it with the foyer. The sculpted landscape of the buildings’ roof, unify the building with the landscape of the city of Maribor.
- Energy efficiency
The new UGM is designed on bioclimatic principles. The foyer connects all the buildings parts and allows the physical air to pass thought it so that physical ventilation is efficient and energy consumed is reduced.
