Plečnik House

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

The house where Jože Plečnik (1872–1957) lived from 1921 until his death has been restored as a museum and opened to the public in 1974. A thoroughly renovated complex that houses the Plečnik Collection as well as a new permanent exhibition and a study centre reopened in September 2015.

The 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, have been managed by the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana since 2010. 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 Czech and Slovene Ministries of Culture submitted the Plečnik's urban planning and architectural works in Ljubljana and Prague on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list in January 2015.

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.

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

In September 2013 MGML started a thorough renovation of the Plečnik House and its surrounding. Since September 2015 next to Plečnik Collection a permanent exhibition focused on architect's life and work is on display in the corner building at the Karunova 4, while a study centre is set in the first floor of the house.

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

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