ATELJE PRELOVSEK

Project description: Main question of the research was how to form cohabitation of local space with global. Highway can become framework for new perception of space, that can enable advertisement of local products and display of natural and cultural heritage. Such structure can become economically independent and competitive in the market. The results can build new overall image and positive consciousness about the space.
Second level is to create methodological framework for designing multi-layers, particularly in a space where it is possible to join the functions of a rest area and city edge and thereby initiate the formation of a peripheral settlement and tourism development. The aim is to stop transit passengers and to use the potential of easy access from rest areas into the country's background. In this project different activities with highway rest areas were connected.

Location: Highways, Slovenia
Size: country Slovenia
Project phase: postgraduate study
Year of the project: 2002-07
Financed by: scholarship of Ministry of Culture of Slovenia
Institution: Faculty of Architecture, Ljubljana
Mentor: prof. Janez Koželj
Author: Eva Prelovšek Niemelä

MONOGRAPH
Research project was published as Monograph by Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana.

General Analysis has shown that areas that are up to 5km far from highway's entry- and exit-points start to grow after the completion of highway construction. In the contrary, areas that are distant more that 5km show decrease in population settlements. Therefore those areas were further analyzed for other contents and functions in connection to natural and cultural heritage. The last part of the general analysis showed the connection between highway rest areas and recreational- touristic contents. In some areas were discovered higher densities of these functions. This implied potential of new touristic development.

Particular potentials of the tourism development were recognized in some areas. Therefore a new concept of highway trade- mark was proposed. This suggested to join some rest areas into a group which would be connected with thematic circular paths for hiking, cycling or other means of countryside discovering. In the example below, joned rest areas Kozina, Divača and Povir could together show features of Kras landscape with caves, agitated surface, small scale fields and vineyards, distinctive historical architecture and renown Lipica horses.

By networking different landscape structures multi-layer space can be discovered. First step is to discover possible existing structures that can be functional, of traffic, urbanistic or historical. When we overlap them, points of disproportion appear. Therefore structures have to be remodeled into new hybrid structure. In the example below, historical structure (ancient roman camp), traditional agricultural landscape and traffic structures are overlapped into new multi-layer space at Obrežje (highway border crossing to Croatia).

By discovering different coincidences in the landscape new attractions can be created. In the vicinity of rest area near Murska Sobota (see picture below), many local peculiarities were found: archaeological site from Bronz Age, with distinctive circular structures and bronze vessels, artificial lake in gravel pit, recreational paths from the town, farmhouses and fields, small scale forests, club aerodrome. Such points of attraction can be joined together into new generic core of tourism.

Next example (below) shows how a multi-layered space can be created at the point where highway rest area, local suburban district and city entrance join together. Highway in this example creates rest area in the edge city while city creates a stronger and denser suburban district. New development was suggested in the former dump area at highway exit Maribor-center.