‘Expressions of Contemporary Slovenian Architecture in Film’

During the interlude between the World Wars—and in the aftermath of five-and-a-half centuries of Hapsburg rule—architect Jože Plecnik created a structural identity for his birth city of Ljubljana, Slovenia, designing everything from churches and bridges to a cemetery and a fish market. Since the fall of communism in 1991, Slovenian architecture has enjoyed a similar revival, a period that’s the subject of two ongoing exhibitions at Ljubljana’s Museum of Architecture and Design. The first, “Designing the Republic: Architecture, Design and Photography in Slovenia 1991–2011,” commemorates 20 years of Slovenian independence, and the buildings it has inspired. The second, Small and Smart: Expressions of Contemporary Slovenian Architecture in Film, presents six short films directed by Matjaž Ivanišin and Damjan Kozole, each one walking us through a Slovenian structure from the past six years. Those include an altar in a village square, a soccer stadium, and the university biotechnical facility—and its biodiversity—shown in the film above. Through Nov. 20th • mao.si