Medprostor encloses 12th-century church with folding roof in Slovenia
CategoriesArchitecture

Medprostor encloses 12th-century church with folding roof in Slovenia

Local studio Medprostor has covered and partially repaired a 900-year-old Romanesque church in Slovenia, placing an operable roof on top of the open structure to create a space “between a ruin and a reconstruction”.

Medprostor crafted a series of modest interventions alongside the folding roof that aim to protect the significant monastic building, located inside the fortified grounds of the historic Žiče Charterhouse.

The repairs and alterations were also intended to improve its functionality for tourism and events.

Roof and lookout at Žiče Charterhouse church by Medprostor in SloveniaRoof and lookout at Žiče Charterhouse church by Medprostor in Slovenia
Medprostor has topped a 12th-century church with a folding roof in Slovenia

According to the studio, the project was conceived to protect the church’s immaterial qualities as an ancient and sacred place, in addition to preserving its physical remains.

“The construction and restoration interventions were carried out in such a way that they enable a chronological reading of the 900-year-old sacral space,” Medprostor cofounder Jerneja Fischer Knap told Dezeen.

“[The design] fully conforms to the requirements of heritage protection for reversibility, with less invasive and less intense interventions,” he continued.

Blackened wood and steel roof over church in Žiče Charterhouse by Medprostor in SloveniaBlackened wood and steel roof over church in Žiče Charterhouse by Medprostor in Slovenia
The half-gable roof structure spans the length of the church and can be opened to the sky

“The largest intervention was the covering of the existing building with a semi-movable, folding roof,” Knap said.

“When lowered, it enables the smooth running of events in the church regardless of the season and weather, while when raised, it preserves one of the most important intangible moments of the ruin: contact with the open sky.”

Lightweight black steel, blackened wood and dark slate tiles make up the half-gable roof system, distinguishing the gesture from the church’s original masonry architecture.

Medprostor also chose restrained and rectilinear geometries for its interventions, seeking to establish a low-tech aesthetic language that could sit harmoniously against the heritage structures.

“The roof, together with its details and proportions is related to the key architectural elements of the whole church,” Knap explained. “And yet, it can also act as an illusion – a spectre in harmony with the open, ephemeral character of the ruin… [a] space between a ruin and a reconstruction.”

Open roof and ruins of the church at Žiče Charterhouse by Medprostor in SloveniaOpen roof and ruins of the church at Žiče Charterhouse by Medprostor in Slovenia
A dark, uniform material palette defines the interventions across the church

The studio reconstructed a demolished portion of the church’s walls and flooring, while spiral staircases were placed into existing vertical shafts to reconnect visitors to an upper-level viewing platform.

“Two staircases are connected to a new lookout point with a narrow, slightly sloping corridor leading up to it, framed by the outer faces of the [reconstructed] north wall,” Knap explained.

“The lookout point offers an essential view from above of the northern part of the monastery complex and its ruined character.”

Repaired wall and raised flooring in church at the Žiče Charterhouse by Medprostor in SloveniaRepaired wall and raised flooring in church at the Žiče Charterhouse by Medprostor in Slovenia
The studio made limited repairs to the ruins, including reconstructing its partially collapsed northern wall

Slovenian architecture studio Medprostor was established by Knap, Rok Žnidaršič and Samo Mlakar in 2011, with projects spanning across the public and private sectors.

Medprostor’s interventions at Žiče Charterhouse were shortlisted for the 2024 European Mies van der Rohe Award, which has previously been won by Grafton Architects for its colonnaded teaching building for Kingston University in London.

The seven finalists for the 2024 Mies van der Rohe Award were recently revealed to include The Reggio School by Andrés Jaque, a copper-clad convent in France and a library by SUMA Arquitectura in Spain.

The photography is by Miran Kambič.

Reference

Infrastructuring Nature: Appropriating the Industrial Ruins of New York City
CategoriesArchitecture

Infrastructuring Nature: Appropriating the Industrial Ruins of New York City

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In his essay Nature, Infrastructure and Cities, Antoine Picon writes, “Before the rise of the environmental crises we now face, nature served as the support for infrastructures. Roads, bridges and canals were generally located in natural settings. However, in our contemporary technologically driven world, nature increasingly appears as a fragile entity that is itself in need of infrastructure support.”

New York has been the melting pot for architectural experimentation and innovation as well as the home to many industrial settings and infrastructures that are no longer operative. This, along with the more environmentally conscious approach architects are enforcing, has led to the appropriation of many of these settings fused with natural elements. These seven architectural projects showcase new, intuitive ways of “infrastructuring nature” by repurposing old industrial systems to create a “greener” New York City. As Antoine Picon points out, nature will never be prevalent in current metropolitan cities, nor will it be sustainable without artificial support. Nevertheless, the damage of overdevelopment is not irreversible as long as there are projects that recognize the hidden opportunities of these forgotten industrial ruins.


High Line

By James Corner Field Operations & Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Manhattan, New York, United States

Jury Winner, 2014, A+Awards, Concepts – Architecture + Light

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alt=How can an abandoned railroad be reused by the citizens of New York City? Connecting the Meatpacking District with the Hudson Railyards, 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) of elevated rail tracks have been transformed into the High Line project: a public park that stands as an agricultural oasis amidst the franticness of the big city. Prior to the project’s realisation, the deserted railroad had already been “reclaimed” by nature. Consequently, when James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro designed the High Line they celebrated these natural diversities, by employing the strategy of “agri-tecture”. Irregular paving patterns and planting beds form a series of asymmetrical pathways, allowing the people of New York to experience the city through a different, more impromptu, type of lens.


Terminal Warehouse

By COOKFOX Architects, Manhattan, New York, United States

alt= alt=Built in 1891, the Terminal Warehouse is an iconic post-industrial ruin of New York. No longer needing the traditional warehouse in West Chelsea district, the Terminal Warehouse is gradually being transformed into a collection of biophilic office spaces. As part of their design strategy, COOKFOX Architects have preserved the building’s historic architectural typology and used its masonry structure as an infrastructure for supporting a series of gardens and green terraces. Additionally, through a set of rail tracks, the Terminal Warehouse is directly linked with Hudson river. The disregarded railroad becomes an opportunity for reuse and is transformed into a pedestrian route that reestablishes the link between city and water.


Governors Island Park and Public Space

By West 8, Manhattan, New York, United States

Jury Winner, 2017, A+Awards, Public Park
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Photo by Iwan Baan

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Photo by Noah Devereaux

Infrastructure comes in all shapes and sizes. The Governors Island, located south of Manhattan, is a piece of land that has been repurposed countless times. From an unspoiled landscape to a military base to a hotel and racetrack, the island was expanded through artificial means to host a number of contradicting functions. Finally, in 2006, West 8 won the competition for creating a masterplan that transforms the island into a public destination and landmark. They designed a historic park, a plethora of public spaces and a large promenade that wraps around the island. Nowadays, Governors Island has formed a symbiotic relationship with the New York harbor, eventually becoming its natural extension.


F.R.E.D., Fostering Resilient Ecological Development

By Ennead Architects, Queens, New York, United States

Jury Winner, 2017, A+Awards, Unbuilt Masterplan

alt= alt=Located in a beach-front site in the Rockaways, the F.R.E.D. proposal introduces a new type of pairing between nature and infrastructure. Ennead Architects used the iconic Row House typology and the local sand dunes as the two components for designing a resilient infrastructure system. Their aim was to create a flexible strategy, which could be easily repurposed for other waterfront sites with the same characteristics and expand upon the research on “infrastructuring nature”.


Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park

By SWA/Balsley & WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism, Queens, New York, United States

alt="Hunter'sPoint-01" alt="Hunter'sPoint-02"For two hundred years, Hunter’s Point was a series of wetlands on the East river. Later on, the site was turned into an industrial hub and rail station. Eventually, it was diminished to a post-industrial ruin filled with decaying piers and steep landfills, inaccessible to the wider public. Finally, in 2018 it became one of the most transformative and ecologically driven projects in the city. A coastal park, a footbridge, a cantilevered overlook and even a landfill peninsula transformed what used to be an empty industrial site into an adaptable infrastructural system that reinvented the once iconic water edge.


Pier 35

By SHoP Architects, Manhattan, New York, United States

alt= alt=Enclosed by the Hudson and East rivers, the island of Manhattan is naturally surrounded by many raw, uninviting concrete piers. Fortunately, the Pier 35 proposal transformed one of these flat blocks of artificial land into a much needed esplanade project. Pier 35 is literary “infrastructuring nature”. It consists of a folded landscape that gradually slopes down to the surface of the water. Its crinkled form interacts with the varying tidal currents, while replicating the physical characteristics of the East river shoreline. Above the water, a series of landscape lawns, dunes and inclined plant-covered screens form pedestrian walkways filled with vantage points towards Brooklyn and Manhattan bridge.


The Dryline

By Rebuild by Design & BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, Manhattan, New York, United States

Jury Winner, 2015, A+Awards, Masterplan

alt= alt=Also known as “The Big U,” this conceptual 10-mile-long (16 kilometer) protective ribbon around Manhattan was imagined in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Ultimately, it was deemed unfit to respond to the challenging weather conditions that increasingly threaten the city. Subsequently, the Dryline is a project that redesigns lower Manhattan’s water edge, proposing a series of components that will aid to both the physical and social infrastructure requirements of the neighboring districts. More specifically, the project consist of a continuous protective element that also operates as playful street furniture, an elevated pathway and finally, a series of overarching greenways. In short, the Dryline project has essentially become the blueprint for effectively designing social as well as physical infrastructure strategies for coastal cities, providing new insights for “infra structuring nature” practices.

Architizer’s new image-heavy daily newsletter, The Plug, is easy on the eyes, giving readers a quick jolt of inspiration to supercharge their days. Plug in to the latest design discussions by subscribing. 

Reference