The third edition of the SHARE Forum in Slovenia will take place on 25th of April 2023, at the Intercontinental Ljubljana Hotel. “Sustainable facades: Design and technology,” and “Large-scale development projects” are the main themes that will be explored during the program of the International Architecture and Technology Innovation Forum.

SHARE Slovenia 2023 will provide attendees with access to knowledge and new opportunities for collaboration. National and international renowned speakers, innovators in architecture and building technologies will provide the audience with insightful technical details of large-scale projects as well as inspirational visions.

MEET THE GUEST | Gregor Turnšek, Parnter JKMM Architects, Finland

JKMM Architects is an integrated design practice of architecture, interior architecture, urban design, furniture design, graphic design and art, creating the next generation of Finnish design. Gregor Turnšek is an architect and one of the new partners at JKMM Architects. Gregor has been engaged in various projects at JKMM Architects at different design stages. Gregor’s work has recently been focused on large scale cultural developments in China, as well as on several architectural competitions in the Nordic countries such as the winning proposal for the Lillehammer Art Museum. As project architect, Gregor was also leading the project of Finland Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020.

WORK | Projects of JKMM

Amos Rex Art Museum

Amos Rex is a new art museum located in the heart of Helsinki. The project consists of two parts: a new subterranean museum and the renovation of a 1930s listed building: Lasipalatsi.

Amos Rex rethinks the urban park as part of our museum experience. Its structure is built with large concrete domes. This principle is very functional for museum use: it allows long column-free spans and flexible exhibition spaces.

Photo © Mika Huisman

The domes contain skylights that introduce natural light into the galleries below as well as carefully selected views of life above. At street level, a new urban square has been created with a unique identity. The domes form an undulating landscape for people to enjoy, especially children. The Lasipalatsi building was restored respecting its valuable 1930´s Functionalist era interiors and details.

Photo © Tuomas Uusheimo

Kirkkonummi Library

Kirkkonummi is a municipality of 40,000 inhabitants near Helsinki built around its Medieval stone church. Facing the church, JKMM has transformed the old city library. Together with the nearby open market, the church and library create the civic centre of Kirkkonummi. JKMM have therefore emphasised the relationship of the library with the neighbouring church by designing a 50-metre long sheltered terrace overlooking the church yard. The copper shingle cladding of the new library, called Fyyri, also relates back to its maritime heritage setting.

Photo © Tuomas Uusheimo

The reading rooms at Fyyri respect the Finnish Modernist tradition of libraries that ennoble the idea of books and learning through their highly crafted design and carefully detailed interiors. At Fyyri, the interiors include bespoke lighting with brass fittings that create warmth and also a sense of dignity that is in keeping with this building typology.

Photo © Mark Goodwin

Brass is also used by JKMM in the library’s new entrances and hand railings in a way that is inviting and intuitively leads visitors through the public areas. Today brass is, of course, all the more appreciated as a material for its inherently anti-bacterial properties but when designing the building JKMM wanted a finish that would contrast with the concrete surfaces that dominate the architecture.

Photo © Tuomas Uusheimo

Seinäjoki Library

Photo © Tuomas Uusheimo

Seinäjoki Library is located next to Alvar Aalto’s masterful civic center. The challenge was to design the new library with a modern vision whilst connecting it to Aalto’s architecture. Seinäjoki is one of Finland’s first new generation of libraries. Libraries are no longer only about books, they have changed to become living rooms for citizens, places which give access to knowledge for all people.  People also gather and meet each other in the library.  The library was completed as part of the civic center in 1965. An example of Aalto’s famous series of library designs, it served well as the town’s main library for over four decades. With the expansion of the town and evolution of library activities, however, it was no longer able to meet today’s demands. As a solution, the town decided to co-locate a modern building with the current library, so that the resulting two buildings would merge into a single functional complex.

Photo © Tuomas Uusheimo

The key point of reference for the new library design was its location in the valuable environment of the civic centre created by Aalto. The aim was to initiate a dialogue between the new and the old part. The new building must respect the protected cultural environment while making a bold statement as a piece of modern architecture – in other words, find the right balance between being conciliatory and challenging.

Photo © Tuomas Uusheimo

The multifarious interior spaces merge into each other in an open plan, opening up carefully designed views. The view through the large window of the high main hall is dominated by local landmarks: the clock tower of Lakeuden Risti church and the fan-shaped facade of the old library. From the main entrance and the newspaper reading room, visitors can see a section of the civic centre plaza past the theatre. The new and the old library are thus opposites in their relation to the environment surrounding them – with its emphasis on indirect natural light, the windows of the library designed by Aalto offer limited views of the outside.

Kalasatama School and Day Care

Photo © Studio Hans Koistinen

Kalasatama School and Day Care is designed to be an inviting and approachable public building. The cheerful building clearly stands out among the surrounding blocks of concrete buildings, its sculpture-like figure assuming a visible place in the urban structure.

Photo © Studio Hans Koistinen

It was built in two stages. The first phase, completed in spring 2016, included the lower wing at the north-eastern corner of the sheltered courtyard housing the daycare centre and preschool education facilities, as well as sports facilities and a canteen in the middle of the building. In the second phase, completed in 2020, the building was extended to meander around the courtyard. That is when a dining hall, stage and library, as well as study facilities for older students were built. The new building has approximately 700 pupils.

Photo © Hannu Rytky

The teaching facilities of the school are designed to support the basic premises of the latest pedagogy. Traditional pupils’ desks and classrooms have been done away with, and the teacher no longer sits behind a desk. The environment provides stimuli and encourages interactivity. The teaching facilities and their furniture are designed for different functions, and the pupils move between different facilities with the teaching.

Photo © Studio Hans Koistinen

The space and furniture solutions bring the pupils closer to the teacher and can be modified for different teaching situations. The facilities can be easily altered and joined together by opening partition walls. The multi-purpose design also allows function- and phenomenon-based learning.

SHARE Slovenia 2023 | The great line-up of speakers

SHARE Slovenia 2023 has as guests internationally recognized personalities in the field of architecture:

• Peter Murray, Chairman New London Architecture;
• Frans Van Vuure, Director UNstudio, The Netherlands;
• Maurizio Meossi, Associate Director Zaha Hadid Architects, UK;
• Patrick Lüth, Managing Director Snohetta, Norway;
• Ernst Giselbrecht, Founder Ernst Giselbrecht + Partner, Austria;
• Marko Dabrović, Founder 3LHD, Croatia;
• Aljoša Dekleva, co-founder Gregorič Architects, Slovenia;
• Majda Kregar, Founder Ambient d.o.o., Slovenia;
• Andraž Keršič, Co-Founder a2o2 architekti, Slovenia;
• Gregor Turnšek, Parnter JKMM Architects, Finland;
• Roland Bechmann, Director Werner Sobek, Germany;

The event is organized by SHARE Architects, one of the most active events network in the region, in partnership with the Chamber of Architecture and Spatial Planning of Slovenia, with the support of Everest, the partner of the event and Zumtobel, proud partner of SHARE  Community.

SHARE Architects in Slovenia

Great Slovenian architects have joined the SHARE Architects network adding value to previous editions in Ljubljiana or promoting Slovenian architecture in Europe. 15 Slovenian personalities in architecture are members of the SHARE Architects Society, an exclusive group within the SHARE Architects network, among the being Matej Blenkuš, Dean Lah, Spela Videcnik, Mojca Gregorski, Nande Korpnik, Tomaž Krištof. SHARE Architects Society has awarded the SHARE OPERA OMNIA AWARDS to Špela Videčnik, Co-founder OFIS arhitekti, for her life’s work and notable achievements in the field of architecture.

SHARE Architects Network – Connecting architects and contractors in Central and South Eastern Europe

Over the past 25 years, SHARE Architects forums have become a key networking platform for architects and constructors in Central and South Eastern Europe. SHARE provides a useful framework for knowledge and understanding of the diversity of modern architectural phenomena. Currently, SHARE Architects events are held in 16 countries and have developed a community of over 50,000 professionals around them.