The Institute for Integrative Learning: Moving through Knowledge

Bianca Elena Buga

  • Študijski programi
    Enoviti magistrski študijski program druge stopnje Arhitektura (EMŠA)
  • Letnik
    5. letnik
  • Študijsko leto
    2020/21

The Institute of Integrative Learning is a complex program. In my case, this idea was developed in layers: the underground level, bearing the ruins of Emona, the base which contains the workshops and laboratories, the special spaces which are extruded from the base (the big performance hall, the plants study laboratory and the administration and conference space) and the circulation, which offers dynamic perspectives of the process of learning and of the spaces dedicated to it.The position of the Institute on the site is determined by the direction of the Emona ruins, a direction that is also found in the nearbybuildings, such as Plecnik’s Library. 

One of the main elements that brings all the activities together is the atrium, the interior space of the building, filtered from the exterior by the library that surrounds it. From this space you can perceive the light as it changes the atmosphere and how it affects the workingspaces. 

Another key element in this design is the library, which is in a permanently shifting state, as the members of the Institute use it, changing the density of it. It is present throughout the whole building and behind the books you can see how the knowledge is applied. The big performance hall was used as a piece that marks an important street intersection of the site. Moreover, from the inside it acts as an element that arouses curiosity, as one of the corner penetrates the atrium. The apartments building completes the existing building and offers a more dynamic view of the Institute. 

The area surrounding the Institute consists of two types of spaces: a mineral one and a vegetal one, which collide in a spot marked by a water mirror.