the interweaving of three typologies in a tower of democracy
The spatial design of the courthouse comes from three typological units that are connected into a new whole: the court tower, the office slat and the park pavilion. An extended passage on the ground floor of the building covers the vestibule of the entrance hall from which the public rises to the level of the discussion halls. Their organization into the varied vertical volume of the court tower enables the development of the court palace’s vertical hall with multi-level interspaces and hall waiting rooms oriented towards the park and the city center with Ljubljana Castle. The court tower becomes the new representative public space of the city.
The extensive office program is arranged in a double-sided lamella that follows the building line along Dunajska cesta. The lamella floats above the public ground floor and descends into the ground-floor pavilion volume at the corner between Dunajska cesta and Topniška ulica. On the upper floors, the lamella rests against the court tower so that judges can access each floor of the tower directly from the internal corridor of the departments.
The court palace park is enclosed towards Topniška street by a ground-floor pavilion with a restaurant, which opens on both sides to the park and the street. The low volume balances the building mass of the palace and introduces a human dimension to the park area. The topography of the abandoned building pit and the unique ecosystem that developed within it are interpreted by the new, varied public landscape of the court park.
The duality of the public discussion and supporting internal administrative office program is demonstrated both in the volumetric design and the facade. The public part of the building is transparent and designed as a light structure with slender columns, thin metal railings and building elements in the interior. The office lamella is designed according to the principle of a glass facade with movable aluminum blinds, which create the impression of light awnings. Movable blinds allow variation of the uniform facade area and the impression of individuality within the repetitive rhythm of offices.
