STA, 8 April 2022 - A new creative centre that is emerging from the defunct Ljubljana bicycle factory Rog will open its doors in the summer of 2023. Rog Centre will promote cultural and creative activities, especially product making, applied arts, architecture and design.
The building of the former factory, which at the end of the 19th century housed a tannery, is part of Ljubljana's key industrial heritage and will as such be preserved at the new centre, deputy head of Rog Centre Renata Zamida told the press on Thursday.
The new creative centre will feature seven production labs, including for textile, wood processing, ceramics and glass, and green and culinary labs, for which there will be a membership fee similar to a library fee.
A total of 25 production facilities will be available free of charge based on calls for applications. The use of the facilities will be limited to three to four years. The first call is to be published this autumn.
Five residential areas will be available to users from other countries, also to encourage a cultural exchange with their countries.
The centre will also have a large area for socialising and exhibitions, a library and cafes. There will also be two smaller shops where products manufactured at the labs will be sold.
The building will have four floors and a total of 8,500 square metres. Outside the building a park will stretch at 8,000 square metres.
The building will have a solar roof and will be partly energy self-sufficient. The centre will be open around the clock.
A car park will be partly used by the centre users and partly rented out to near-by residents.
How it might look. Image: www.ljubljana.si
The Rog building, where the first bicycles were made in 1953, was the first reinforced concrete building in Slovenia, according to Zamida. A part of its façade with elements of Czech Cubism will be preserved.
The investment is estimated at about EUR 20 million and the project is partly funded by the EU.
Meta Štular, acting director of strategic development and programmes, said a very diverse programme would be offered at Rog. It will be open and accessible to all citizens.
Particularly young women will be invited to head the technological labs, while older users will be encouraged to share their knowledge as mentors to Rog users.
Rog Centre was founded by the Ljubljana municipality last May. The renovation started after an autonomous social and cultural community was evicted from the premises in January 2021 with the help of police.
Meta Štular regretted that a solution had not been found through dialogue at the time and expressed hope that some of the former Rog users would return to the renovated centre.
There are guided tours of the construction site every first Thursday of the month.
