Plečnik House

Plečnik House in 2012, before the renovation works that were accomplished in September 2015, Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana

Opened to the public in 1974, the house where Jože Plečnik (1872–1957) lived from 1921 until his death has been restored in period style as a museum dedicated to the life and work of Slovenia's greatest architect. The Plečnik House comprises two houses at Karunova ulica 4 and 6, and an adjacent garden with a lapidarium; together with the entire inventory of furniture and other objects used by Plečnik, they form the Plečnik Collection, which since 2010 has been managed by the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana. The collection contains extensive archives of architect's sketches, plans, correspondences, and other documents, including the archive of Ognjišče akademikov arhitektov [Academy of Architecture Collection].

The renovated Plečnik House with a permanent exhibition and a study centre reopens in September 2015. The Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Czech Republic, has been preparing the nomination of Plečnik's urban planning and architectural works for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Collection

The core of the collection is exhibited in the cylindrical annex which Plečnik had added to his brother's old house between 1923 and 1925. A few years later he had an entrance hall added to the northern side of the house and a winter garden to the southern side. The authentic interiors are preserved just as Plečnik created them, with his own original design of furniture and a wealth of small objects. A spacious garden completes the Plečnik property on the western side of the building.

From 2 September 2013 through September 2015 the Plečnik House is being renovated. Next to Plečnik’s collection a permanent exhibition focused on his life and work will be on display in the corner building at the Karunova 4, while a study centre is to be arranged in the first floor of the house.

Background

After Plečnik's death in 1957, the large collection of the architect's plans and correspondence was entirely preserved by his nephew Karel Matković. In 1970 the house was sold to the City of Ljubljana together with its contents. Two years later the city municipality established the Architecture Museum of Ljubljana at the building. In 1992 most of the departments were moved to the renovated Fužine Castle, yet the Plečnik Collection remained at the Plečnik House. Since 2010 the site has been managed by Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana.

External links

Gallery

Portrait of Jože Plečnik, 1933

Plečnik House in 2012, before the renovation works that were accomplished in September 2015, Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana

The interior of Jože Plečnik's studio in the year of the master's death in 1957.

Plečnik Collection, work table in Jože Plečnik's master's studio, 1957. Photo from Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana documentation/Plečnik Collection.

Plečnik Collection, some objects from the master's studio, 2011.

Drawing utensils preserved in situ at the Plečnik House, 2015.

Plečnik received guests in the small room panelled with wood on the ground floor. Renovated room in 2015

Plečnik House, reception room detail, 2015

Architectural design of the cylindrical extension of Plečnik House, Karunova street 4, Ljubljana, 1923

Jože Plečnik, standing in front of the cylindrical extension of his house in Trnovo, 1926. Photo by Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana documentation/Plečnik Collection.

Winter garden at Plečnik House, Karunova street 4, Ljubljana, 1923

The renovated complex (designed by Arrea Architecture) of the two houses at Karunova Street with the Plečnik Collection in situ, a new permanent exhibition on Jože Plečnik and a study centre, 2015.

Renovated Plečnik House, cylindrical annex, 2015

The entry porch in Plečnik House, with the master's collection of sculptures and spolia, 2015. Photo by Matevž Paternoster/Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana.

The architect Jože Plečnik moved to a single-storey house at Karunova Street 4 in Ljubljana's Trnovo district in 1921, and extended it with a cylindrical tower in 1924. Plečnik House exterior, renovated in 2015. Photo by Andrej Peunik/Museum and Galleries of ljubljana

Renovated Plečnik House, house front, 2015

The authentic interiors are preserved just as Plečnik created them, with his own original design of furniture and a wealth of small objects. Renovated Plečnik House, 2015