The exhibition Marjan Šorli and Domesticated Architecture is the first in a new series of MAO exhibitions titled Preview that employ an innovative approach to presenting the museum’s collection to the public. This September, we are celebrating the 110th anniversary of the birth and 50th anniversary of the death of architect Marjan Šorli (1915–1975), a designer, writer, thinker, lecturer, and exceptional author who has often been overlooked by architectural history. The exhibition is dedicated to exploring the architect’s work, but not in the classic, closed, and curated form, but rather as an open commentary on the diverse materials that the museum has just acquired for its collection.   Marjan Šorli was an extremely unique yet characteristic representative of Slovenian post-war architecture. His projects reflect a variety of influences, the Plečnik’s School, research on anonymous folk architecture, insights gained from study trips around Europe and the USA, and ...

Platform of Used Materials: Reuse of exhibition and other temporary structures in culture   Cultural institutions produce numerous exhibition structures, stage designs, and other temporary structures from various materials, which, after the completion of exhibitions or events, end up as waste or stored away without the possibility of reuse. Despite the environmental crisis, the cultural sector lacks clearly defined commitments to the sustainable design of temporary structures and has not yet established methodologies for the circular use of these materials and elements. The Platform of Used Materials project develops a methodology for categorising materials and a platform for their borrowing and reuse. The pilot project takes place at the MAO and tests scenarios for the broader implementation of the management of materials and elements of temporary structures within the cultural sector. The installation Materials, Elements, Prototypes for the first time publicly presents ...

The Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity on Congress Square in Ljubljana (Carlo Martinuzzi, 1718–1726), has long been regarded as one of the finest – and most unusual – examples of Baroque architecture in Slovenia. Come the 20th century, it underwent an unexpected reinterpretation when the two leading Slovenian architects of the time, Jože Plečnik (1872–1957) and Edvard Ravnikar (1907–1993), adopted it as a cornerstone of their larger architectural vision. Both were in their own way committed to the discipline of the classical; and both perceived the Ursuline Church as a monument to a distinctive architectural culture that emerged out of the intersection of classical tradition and the authentic character of the local environment. Thanks to its exceptional quality, Baroque Ljubljana became, either explicitly or implicitly, a point of reference for other architects working in the city. While Baroque architecture was still largely viewed across Europe in the 20th century as a ...