RENOVATION OF MEDIEVAL TOWN CENTRE IN ŠKOFJA LOKA
LOCATION
Škofja Loka, Slovenija
COMPETITION YEAR
February 2013
ARCHITECTURE OFFICE
Ravnikar - Potokar arhitekturni biro d.o.o.
ARCHITECTURE
Robert Potokar, Ajdin Bajrovič, Primož Žitnik, Špela Kuhar, Andrej Blatnik
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
dr. Tanja Simonič Korošak
URBAN DESIGN
Studio Miklavc
Jure Miklavc, Jaka Verbič, Jože Carli, Silva Cimperman
PRIZE
1st Prize
The concept for the design of the city’s open public spaces is based on the ambition to establish a unified urban identity through a coordinated approach to paving, street furniture, individual public-space interventions and urban greenery. Škofja Loka has a strong historical and spatial identity, making it essential that new interventions integrate subtly into the existing urban fabric. The interventions are therefore largely anonymous in character, with a restrained authorial approach that resonates with the medieval and Baroque character of the town.
The primary motif for the paving is granite setts, which were widely used in the town’s streets and squares until the 1970s. Due to their ease of maintenance and a lack of awareness of their architectural and visual significance, they were subsequently covered with cheaper asphalt. The granite setts are complemented by forged iron, a material that enriches almost every façade in Škofja Loka—appearing in shutters, shop signs, lamps, brackets and architectural details. The entire range of new street furniture is designed around these references.
The town also has a distinctive tradition of urban greenery, which is preserved, revitalised or reintroduced where appropriate. In the historic centre, greenery primarily appears as individual planting points, sequences of inner gardens, and terraced gardens along the rivers. Courtyards are predominantly paved. Along the edges of the town, linear belts of trees are more common, while larger park areas are concentrated around Castle Hill and along the Sora rivers. Along the urbanised sections of the riverbanks, landscape interventions are organised either as terraces or in a more naturalistic manner, often behind flood-protection walls. Elsewhere, the river edges retain a naturalistic character with varied and layered riparian vegetation.
The overall condition of the town’s trees is relatively poor. A range of measures is therefore proposed to revitalise viable vegetation, including crown pruning, the removal of unsuitable branches and the restoration of root zones. Unsuitable or declining trees are removed and replaced with new planting. Species are selected with regard to the historic medieval context and local conditions—including commonly occurring fruit trees, linden, rowan and horse chestnut—as well as their tolerance of demanding urban ecological conditions such as drought and overheating, and their environmental value, including flowering characteristics, autumn colour, microclimate regulation and varied growth habits.
New planting follows appropriate selection of tree species and cultivars suited to the medieval urban context, correct planting techniques and adequate protection of root zones.
Beyond the development of a coherent system of green spaces, squares and streets as a complex structural and programmatic network, the design is conceptually enriched by two additional spatial strategies: Fairy-Tale Škofja Loka and the concept of urban Forma Viva.
Fairy-Tale Škofja Loka proposes the design of children's playgrounds and play situations throughout the town based on well-known local fairy tales. Forma Viva, meanwhile, establishes a network of urban artworks at key points throughout the town, drawing its themes from the medieval character of Škofja Loka and its formal language from recognisable local materials such as wrought iron and timber.
Elements interpreting the town’s cultural and natural heritage are distributed throughout the urban space in the form of ground plaques, distinctive environmental markers, information panels and a scale model. Individual park and square interventions also contribute to the interpretation of the town’s heritage.
The design of the urban spaces also takes into account the needs of people with reduced mobility. Level adjustments and ramps provide easier access, while path edges and walking surfaces are appropriately detailed. Where suitable gradients cannot be achieved physically, alternative forms of access are provided, such as a lift to the castle.
