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The exhibition New Praxis, New Tools aims to shed light on the way contemporary “Slovenian” architectural practices operate. It is a coproduction of the Centre for Creativity and Škuc Gallery, where it will be on show between 24 February and 31 March. Under the auspices of the Museum of Architecture and Design’s interdisciplinary platform Centre for Creativity, Mika Cimolini and Matevž Čelik put a spotlight on the work process of selected architectural organisations, in particular their work philosophy and projects. The selected studios showcase the diversity in approaches to architectural design and reveal a novel understanding of architectural practices and processes.

The project was inspired by three conversations between participating architects and the curators, Matevž Čelik and Mika Cimolini, in which they discussed which organisational, design and other innovations they integrate in their work, thereby changing the way we understand architectural practice today.

The exhibition will be accompanied by an eponymous catalogue featuring texts by Radim Louda, French architect and professor at the Versailles school of architecture; Luka Skansi, architectural historian and associate professor at Politecnico di Milano; Tia Čiček, art historian and curator at Škuc Gallery; Maja Vardjan, architect and architecture curator at MAO; Matevž Čelik, architectural writer and critic, MAO director Bogo Zupančič, and the catalogue’s editor Mika Cimolini, architect and CzK programme manager.

The curators’ selection was entirely subjective and focused on the diversity of approaches to tackling the relevant topics in architectural design. The presented architectural practices were established 10–15 years ago, when the global financial crisis was rearing its ugly head and the pressure of the climate crisis was becoming increasingly heavy, but at the same time myriad opportunities were opening up for global networking and awareness raising of our shared responsibility for the survival of our planet.

The crisis has definitely accelerated the shifts also in the way we think about the mission of architecture, how it relates to society, to ecology, and to the way practice and work is organized. Today, architects are seen as mediators between users and space, custodians of heritage, spatial activists who solve complex organizational, spatial, housing, environmental, and community problems.

Accompanying programme:

24 February at 17.00:
Guided tour of the exhibition with curator Mika Cimolini
10 March at 18.00:
Guided tour of the exhibition with participating architectural studios
24 March at 18.00:
Guided tour of the exhibition with curator Mika Cimolini