100% DESIGN LONDON - DalCasa

Pliva interijer / Pliva interior
by professor Nigel Whiteley, which makes for his fourth
visit to Grožnjan, and the practical part was led by the
two of us. The theoretical part, besides Nigel Whiteley’s
lectures, also featured lectures from other guest lecturers:
professor Žarko Paić from the Textile-Technology
Faculty, our most famous fashion critic Nenad
Korkut, jewellery designer Nenad Roban and architect
Saša Begović. What we always find interesting about
Grožnjan is that it always touches upon borders between
disciplines, as interacting points with other disciplines
are analysed. That’s not really interdisciplinary
any more, but it rather qualifies as post-disciplinary. In
the practical part, we were trying to find a connection
between architecture and fashion, which is interesting
because those two disciplines are overlapping
each other right now. Fashion used to be thought of as
something ephemeral and short-lived, while architecture
had the aura of something serious that is meant
to last for eternity. Those positions have changed and
today’s architecture is much closer to fashion, as it features
a casual vibe, and it is definitely not done with
eternity in mind, as was the case with the pyramids
and as architecture was treated for centuries. Today’s
architectonic objects are short-lived, something that is
thought of as disposable goods, like maybe some car.
One of the ideologists of such approach was Cederic
Price, whose spirit still lives in Grožnjan. On August 10th
of every year, which is the date of his death, we hold
a little tribute, and that tribute opened this year’s symposium.
You were included among several offices in the world
that consistently transfer architecture from the mechanical
to digital era. What does that mean
Rogina: First of all, that means that we were elected in
30
the edition that is called IT Revolution in Architecture
(Information Technology Revolution in Architecture),
which is edited by Antonino Saggio, who is a professor
at La Sapienza in Rome. That is the most important edition
that deals with how today’s world has transformed
and how we don’t live or do things the way we used to.
That edition primarily relates to books by authors who
write about certain occurrences, while there are very
few monographies about architects who deal with this
topic. Saggio finds us interesting because people are
usually either in digital architecture or are still practicing
architecture in mechanical fashion. He sees our office
as a fact and a possibility of an office that fuses both of
those sides. In that sense, he considers our kindergarten
at Jarun a true masterpiece. The inclusion in that edition
and Kurt Forster’s invitation to the Venice Biennale
in 2004, which was the first time that a selector invited
Croatian architects to participate at Biennale’s main
exhibit, confirm that our work has achieved a strong
international reference. We also performed at the Biennale
in 2000, when we were chosen as Croatian representatives.
I think that all makes us an office that was
breaking the ice in regards to Croatian architecture’s
international affirmation. We broke the ice with six Japanese
awards, two performances at the Venice Biennale,
our book, an award for the “Mladost” swimming
pool at the World Architecture Biennale in Sofia, as well
as with the direct order we received – for a square in
the centre of Saint-Etienne.
What is the condition of the architectonic scene in
Croatia today
Penezić: I have to admit that we were a lot more socially
engaged and present in those architectonic circles
during the last decade. Now we’re not quite as