In seeking to create a relevant, contemporary and inspiring complex that resonates with its specific time and place as well as with the histories and cultures of its users, our design proposal has sifted through the urban layers of this unique Slovenian city in the search for a solution that complements, echoes and extends the existing landscape. Siphoning cues and references from the Maribor’s history, its current condition and its relationship to the Drava, we attempted to seek out those elements which serve as universally applicable informants of for the organisation of both conceptual and architectonic space. From the outset, the intention has been to cultivate an open, collective ethos to the new UGM while still allowing for the programmatic and functional needs of the diverse roles represented in new complex. The new Maribor Art Gallery is designed to embody and manifest a broadly democratic, enlightened and inspiring and integrated vision of the institution and activities it is to house. The new gallery is intended as a point of departure and place of arrival for the city, the arts and visitors alike. Engaging in a dialogue with both its historical and physical context, the New Art Gallery intends to take ownership of the site and instill a strong sense of place and space at its new home, redefining the waterfront and becoming a new reference in Maribor’s cityscape.
