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THE URBAN TRANSFORMATION OF LJUBLJANA, four city models to interpret the city

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Masterthesis 2015; KULeuven; collective work together with Hannelore Thomas
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T H E U R B A N T R A N S F O R M A T I O N O F L J U B L J A N A Seppe Broekx Hannelore omas Four models to interpret the city
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Page 1: THE URBAN TRANSFORMATION OF LJUBLJANA, four city models to interpret the city

T H E U R B A N T R A N S F O R M A T I O N O F L J U B L J A N A

Seppe BroekxHannelore Thomas

Four models to interpret the city

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Studio Balkan2014-2015

Authors: Seppe BroekxHannelore Thomas

Promotors:Ward VerbakelTom Thys

Readers:Bieke CattoorErik De DeynDarja MarincekMatej Nikšič

Thesis submitted to obtain the degree of Master of Engineering: Architecture

THE uRBAN TRANSfoRMATioN of LjuBLjANAfour models to interpret the city

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© Copyright Ku Leuven

Without written permission of the promoters and the authors it is forbidden to reproduce or adapt in any form or by any means any part of this publication. Requests for obtaining the right to reproduce or utilize parts of this publication should be addressed to K.u.Leuven, faculty of Engineering – Kasteelpark Arenberg 1, B-3001 Heverlee (België). Telefoon +32- 16-32 13 50 & fax. +32-16-32 19 88.

A written permission of the promotor is also required to use the methods, products, schematics and programs described in this work for industrial or commercial use, and for submitting this publication in scientific contests.

All images in this booklet are, unless credits are given, made or drawn by the authors.

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ACKNoWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank Ward Verbakel and Tom Thys for their guidance throughout this year of intensive work. Your feedback helped us to reach a level higher than ever imagined. Bieke Cattoor, thank you for the input. Your insights led our analysis in the right direction.

Also, we want to show our appreciation to all the people who helped us in Ljubljana. Especially to Matej Nikšič and Breda Mihelič from the urban Planning institute of the Republic of Slovenia (uiRS). Thank you for your time and patience when answering all our questions, also after our stay in Ljubljana. The same gratitude goes out to Aleksander ostan and Marko fatur (LuZ). The background information and critical opinions gave us a better insight into the functioning of the city.

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PRoLoGuE

SET-uP

i NATioNAL iNfRASTRuCTuRES

Topography and rivers Country roads and city developments Rail- and highways Ljubljana as spill between different cities ii CiTY MoDELS

The linear city Line villages Switching magnitudes Displacement of linear structures Ljubljana as a linear city The concentric city Core city Ring city Decompressed city Ljubljana as a concentric city

The radial city Radial development Green wedges Deduplicated functions Ljubljana as a radial city

The network city infill between the radials Nodes and connections fragmentation of the green wedges Ljubljana as a network city

City models over time

City models

iii ŠTAjERSKA CESTA: SYMBoL of THE NETWoRK CiTY Meaning for the city models impact on infrastructure impact on landscape Expression as a result of the city models Plain Deck Slot Štajerska cesta

EPiLoGuE

BiBLioGRAPHY

9

10

13

25

29

39

49

59

68

71

73

77

87

95

97

98

iNDEX

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PRoLoGuE

This booklet is the first, collective part of our master thesis about the urban transformation of Ljubljana. it is a cartographic and thematic research of the infrastructures, urban fabric and open spaces in Ljubljana, placed in the broader context of Slovenia. All these elements can be interpreted through four city models that define Ljubljana’s city landscape today.

We mainly based our research on map material: historical, hand-drawn, as well as online maps. on them, a hierarchy is visible due to the usage of different line widths, colors and hatches. on certain maps, some roads are marked more prominently than others and so the importance given to each road differs from map to map. Also the boundaries and definitions of, for example, green-hatched areas vary on every map. We tried to reinterpret this cluster of lines by eliminating the existing hierarchy. The obtained uniform maps gave us a clear view of existing structures without being influenced by regulated cartographies. This allowed us to interpret the city in different ways, according to four city models.

Lastly, we used these insights to set up a design task, which forms the foundation for two urban designs. in the second booklet, we will explain our individual strategy to intervene in the city’s structure, keeping the models in mind. This forms a layered story where a clear strategy is the result of a broad analysis of Ljubljana and its models.

NE of Ljubljana in 1880 (Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije)

NE of Ljubljana in 2014 (Google Maps)

NE of Ljubljana in 2013 (Geopedia)

NE of Ljubljana in 2014 without hierarchy

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SET-uPNATioNAL iNfRASTRuCTuRESThe research starts on a larger scale by decomposing the national infrastructures. We try to discover the importance of topological figures in the mountain landscape of Slovenia and try to reveal the underlying structures. Similarities between rivers, country roads, cities and bigger structures like railways and highways are clearly visible in this specific scenery. This way the story of Ljubljana as a capital city of Slovenia is introduced, which plays a very important role because of its strategic location.

CiTY MoDELSTaking previous information into account, we zoom in to the scale of the city of Ljubljana and define the influences of the big infrastructures on the different city models over time. Not only do these national infrastructures define the importance of the node that Ljubljana is, they also play a very important role in the way the city grew over time.

Ljubljana can be decomposed in four superimposed city models. We describe Ljubljana as a linear city, a concentric city, a radial city and a network city. By firstly analysing Ljubljana as a linear city, we look at the linear structures that dominated the area around Ljubljana for centuries. They give a better insight in how these structures function and how restrictions, like rivers and topography, redirect urbanization.

When analyzing the further development of Ljubljana, we detect a growth pattern that has a clear link to the famous diagram of Cedric Price. He uses the egg as a metaphor for defining three city morphologies: “…traditional, dense, ‘hard-boiled egg’ city fixed in concentric rings of development… the ‘fried egg’ city, where railways stretched the city’s perimeter in accelerated linear space-time corridors out into the landscape, resulting in a star shape… and the postmodern ‘scrambled egg city,’ where everything is distributed evenly in small granules or pavilions across the landscape in a continuous network.1”

Topography and rivers

Country roads and city developm

ents

Ljubljana as spill between different cities

Rail- and highways

The linear city

The network city

The radial city

The concentric city

1 The Emergence of Landscape urbanism, by David Grahame Shan

The city as a boiled egg (Cerdic Price)

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The boiled egg city is similar to Ljubljana as a concentric city, where there is a clearly defined centre and the city develops circular around it. This development has clear edges, often accompanied by ramparts. The fried egg city fits the radial city model, in which the city starts to spread along its radials. it loses its sharp borders but keeps its clearly defined centre. The third one is the scrambled egg city. This can be linked to the network city where a network connects different, polycentric nodes.

unlike Cedric Price, we do not see the transitions between different models as a chronological, linear process. instead, they are happening parallel to each other and form a continuous evolution. The clearly visible models arise at four different moments in time, but in the current city the principles of each model are still visible.

ŠTAjERSKA CESTAHere we take a closer look at one specific piece of infrastructure: the Štajerska cesta. This element symbolises the presence of the most recent developed network model. By relating the cesta to the different city models, we show that every part of the city can be interpreted in different, complementary ways, depending on the model applied.

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iNATioNAL iNfRASTRuCTuRES

Slovenia has a very complex landscape. The rise of settlements and infrastructure lines is defined by predetermined conditions and restrictions. This has caused the phenomenon of bundled infrastructures

structured along the rivers. They have defined the way of moving from city to city across the country.

in this chapter, we decompose the evolution of these infrastructures on a national scale. We describe where they found their origins and what the consequences

are of how they developed.

infrastructure lines along rivers (by S. Predalič)

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20km0 N

Pagina rand

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20km0 N

Pagina rand

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Principles based on a map of Slovenia of 2014 (Google Maps)Topographical base map from Geopedia

Adriatic Sea

Sava

Sava

KrkaVipava

Savinja

Ljubljanica

image cutout river0 5km N

ToPoGRAPHY AND RiVERS

Rivers have been the most important way of transport for ages and also in Slovenia they played a decisive role in the course of history. They make deep incisions in the landscape, which has created a very specific topography. The rivers, lying on the lowest point of the valleys, have determined where villages could emerge, how new connections could be made and how these have evolved over time.

Besides the many valleys, carved into the topography by the rivers, another phenomenon is observable. The image shows that in the middle of the country only one lowland connects the north with the south. The topographical structure creates an hourglass principle: a plain narrowing towards the middle. Laibach, the original name of Ljubljana, is situated at the narrowest point.

Adriatic Sea

Sava

Sava

KrkaVipava

Savinja

Ljubljanica

image cutout river0 5km N

The hour glass principle (Geopedia) and height profiles (Google Earth)

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Adriatic Sea

Sava

Sava

KrkaVipava

Savinja

Ljubljanica

image cutout river0 5km N

Adriatic Sea

Sava

Sava

KrkaVipava

Savinja

Ljubljanica

image cutout river0 5km N

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cityAdriatic Sea river country road

Ljubljana

KranjCelje

Novo Mesto

Bled

Trieste

Koper

0 5km N

CouNTRY RoADS AND CiTY DEVELoPMENTS

Villages arose next to the rivers; the more important cities often grew on places where different rivers merge. All the cities and villages were getting connected with country roads, roads that were running parallel to the rivers or that were connecting different lowlands with each other. Most of these country roads are still visible on the current maps of Slovenia, although some have been straightened.

Herzogthums Krain, 1834 (by H. Freyer, Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije)

cityAdriatic Sea river country road

Ljubljana

KranjCelje

Novo Mesto

Bled

Trieste

Koper

0 5km N

Principles based on a map of Herzogthums Krain from 1834 (Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije)

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cityAdriatic Sea river country road

Ljubljana

KranjCelje

Novo Mesto

Bled

Trieste

Koper

0 5km N

cityAdriatic Sea river country road

Ljubljana

KranjCelje

Novo Mesto

Bled

Trieste

Koper

0 5km N

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cityAdriatic Sea river country road highway

A1

H3

A1A2

A2

railway0 5km N

RAiL- AND HiGHWAYS

With the development of modern infrastructures, Slovenia tried to pursue bigger and more efficient connections, in contrast with the small country roads going from village to village. A rail and road network, which is designed not only for the national, but also for the international scale, emerged. Here again, these infrastructure lines are developed closely in line with the rivers, due to the strong topographic differences. The railway tracks in particular rarely diverge from the stable contour lines created by the rivers.

Again the hourglass structure becomes clearly visible and gets defined permanently. Ljubljana forms the spill in the hourglass, the point where all the flows come together and spread out across the country.

cityAdriatic Sea river country road highway

A1

H3

A1A2

A2

railway0 5km N

Principles based on a map of Slovenia of 2014 (Google Maps)

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cityAdriatic Sea river country road highway

A1

H3

A1A2

A2

railway0 5km N

cityAdriatic Sea river country road highway

A1

H3

A1A2

A2

railway0 5km N

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cityAdriatic Sea river country road highway railway missing links

Villach Maribor

Zagreb

Northern Linkage

Koper

Kranj

Vrhnika

Celje

Novo Mesto

0 5km N

LjuBLjANA AS SPiLL BETWEEN DiffERENT CiTiES

When connecting the different cities around Ljubljana in straight distance, the hourglass structure shows negative consequences on the efficiency of the network. A straight connection between two cities is almost never possible, even between cities as Zagreb, Koper, Villach and Maribor. Both on a national and on an international scale, one nearly always has to pass through Ljubljana to get to his or her destination.

To obtain a higher efficiency, the country works with interventions on a smaller scale. An example is the plan for the Northern Linkage where they want to connect the A2 with the A1 in the north of Ljubljana to introduce a faster connection with national facilities like the airport.

The hourglass structure makes that Ljubljana played a very important role in the course of history, not only as a traffic junction and flow, but also in the logistics sector, as an important distributor of goods on a national and international level.

cityAdriatic Sea river country road highway railway missing links

Villach Maribor

Zagreb

Northern Linkage

Koper

Kranj

Vrhnika

Celje

Novo Mesto

0 5km N

Principles based on a map of Slovenia of 2014 (Google Maps)

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cityAdriatic Sea river country road highway railway missing links

Villach Maribor

Zagreb

Northern Linkage

Koper

Kranj

Vrhnika

Celje

Novo Mesto

0 5km N

cityAdriatic Sea river country road highway railway missing links

Villach Maribor

Zagreb

Northern Linkage

Koper

Kranj

Vrhnika

Celje

Novo Mesto

0 5km N

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iiCiTY MoDELS

Ljubljana has a very specific location and is squeezed between two mountains. it forms a spindle in the hourglass structure where different bundles of

infrastructures come together and spread out. This has had a big influence on the growth of the city.

By defining four different city models, four different viewing angles, we analyse the influences of these big

infrastructures on the growth of the city’s network.

Hour glass structure (by S. Keiretsu)

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N0 1km0 1kmN0 1km0 1km

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NN

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A first quest is the phenomenon of the linear city, a city model that forms a continuous, built-up, connection between different settlements. often it is a spontaneous response to local building conditions like roads, rivers and the corresponding topography.

THE LiNEAR CiTY

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LiNE ViLLAGES

The concept of a chain of villages connected by a line is very old; this linear form of human settlements is widespread in the history of urbanization. in the lowlands around Ljubljana, you can see that ordinary villages emerged next to the rivers and the parallel running country roads form the lines to connect them. These line villages symbolize the linear urban form and are the seeds of the fully-developed linear cities.

in the early stages of the linear system, these roads form the primary roads in the urbanization. in the pattern of the embranchments, you can see that different villages arose next to these country roads. Also the phenomenon of bridge by bridge settlements, where two villages arise on the two sides of a bridge, is clearly visible in early maps of Slovenia. The small settlements have the opportunity to expand in this linear pattern because the river and the wetlands, in these times the most important elements of life, are always nearby.

Additional to these line villages formed along the river, a secondary system of linear structures that dominated the former landscape occurred: line structures that are almost perpendicular to the riversides and are formed due to topographical reasons. They form the connection between the north and south lowlands and stress the hourglass principle mentioned in the national infrastructures. These roads however, are less viable for primitive developments, because they are much further from the water and therefore play a more complementary role.

Zoom of Herzogthums Krain, 1834 (by H. freyer, Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije)

Principles based on a map of Herzogthums Krain from 1834 (Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije)

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31river line topo lineriver line village

N0 1km

river line topo lineriver line village

N0 1km

river line topo lineriver line village

N0 1km

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SWiTCHiNG MAGNiTuDES

As the economy started to grow from autonomous cities to an economy based on the trading of goods between different, mostly bigger cities, the trade routes got a very decisive role in the landscape. The city of Laibach is mentioned in these trading routes very early, because of its strategic location. The city arose on an intersection of potential linear cities. The more the city grew by economic advancements, the more important role those trading routes got. The topographically defined country roads, which stayed underdeveloped for ages, started to urbanize and obtained a whole new statute. They took over the primary role in the linear system.

The urbanization of the river-lines came to rest and until today this process never resumed; from then on these lines have received a secondary role compared to the linear cities that grow towards a central city development. The rural character of these river-lines and line villages are still present in the current landscape of this lowland.

Principles based on a commercial city map of Ljubljana of 1980 (Geodetski inštitut Slovenije)

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33topo line river lineriver linear city development

N0 1km

river line topo lineriver line village

N0 1km

topo line river lineriver linear city development

N0 1km

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DiSPLACEMENT of LiNEAR STRuCTuRES

The city of Ljubljana has seen tremendous growth in its recent history. With the implementation of the highways, the linear cities, which first grew towards a small city development, were cut off. The inner parts became integrated in the much larger city that Ljubljana grew into. The outer parts, on the other hand, continued to exist on their own. Again we see a displacement of urbanization, this time towards the development of bigger cities. Developments, both on the former river-line villages as on the topographical defined linear cities came more or less to a standstill.

The fact that the inner urbanization of the city affects the linear cities cannot be denied. At some places it enhances the urbanization, at other points it disturbs the existence of the linear structures.

Principles based on maps of Ljubljana of 2014 (Geodetski inštitut Slovenije; Google Maps)

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35line structure inner urbanization river displaced linear development

N0 1km

river line topo lineriver line village

N0 1km

line structure inner urbanization river displaced linear development

N0 1km

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LjuBLjANA AS A LiNEAR CiTY

Through time different linear structures arose. Natural restrictions like rivers and topography played a very decisive role in the urbanization and linear zoning of the Ljubljana lowlands. This analysis confirms and enhances the first analysis of the national infrastructures.

Today’s Ljubljana forms the spindle where the line cities grew together over time. With the growing of the city, the lines started clinging together and Ljubljana became denser. The linear structures have become less recognisable close to the city centre. it is only further away from the city that the linear structures are still visible. The river-line villages along the Ljubljanica, which now crosses the city centre, do not form a defined structure anymore, while the ones north, along the Sava, do.

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37line structure clitting development river original linear development

N0 1km

river line topo lineriver line village

N0 1km

line structure clitting development river original linear development

N0 1km

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Taking a closer look at how the city of Ljubljana itself arose, how it started growing from a small piece of fabric and how it became the capital of Slovenia, it is possible to decompose the city in the three following city models that work simultaneously. The first model is called the concentric city. in this model the city developed around a strictly defined centre and is characterized by some circular boundaries, which got bigger with the growth of the city.

THE CoNCENTRiC CiTY

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CoRE CiTY

for the origin of Ljubljana as a concentric city we need to go back to the medieval times. Here arose a three-core settlement around the riverbanks of the Ljubljanica with the castle, situated on a hill, as its midpoint. The city boundaries were clearly defined by the rampart that walled the city and connected the settlements to the castle.

The tissue that developed inside the ramparts has not changed a lot over the years and its structure is still visible in the current city centre layout. The country roads that connect the other cities with Ljubljana’s lowlands are just reaching until the five city gates. They do not form a part of the urban fabric of the city.

Also the expansions of the later city are centred around the castle hill. in 1654, the Austrian military engineer Martin Stier designed plans for an expansion of the city walls following the model of Renaissance city fortifications. Nevertheless, these big fortifications did never occur because in the meantime the immediate threat of ottoman attacks had disappeared.

This is in contrast with many other European capital cities, like Brussels and Paris, where these fortifications got built and where the demolition of the walls had an enormous impact on the growth of the city. Many of them have used the new open spaces for the development of big ring roads that became structural elements in the evolution of the cities. But in Ljubljana, this was not the case. The demolition of the three core ramparts in the 19th century only led to a unification between the historical centre and its expansions.

Ljubljana after the demolition of the city walls, 1827 (Ljubljana skozi stoletja, pp.100-101)

Ramparts of Ljubljana, 1744 (Ljubljana skozi stoletja, pp.54-55)

View of the castle hill, 1679 (Moll’s map collection)

Principles based on maps of Ljubljana around 1600 (1654, Ljubljana skozi stoletja, p.39)

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41country roadriver three-core settlement planned fortification

N0 1km

river line topo lineriver line village

N0 1km

country roadriver three-core settlement planned fortification

N0 1km

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for a long period of time, the city maintained its concentric form. Around 1880, the city was centred around the castle hill and the river banks, without much dispersion. Also in this phase, it is visible that the country roads were entering the city, but they did not participate in the urban fabric of the city.

After the earthquake of 1895, Ljubljana introduced city planning for the very first time. it was Max fabiani who created a city plan of Ljubljana where he described the city as a ring city. The ring road that fabiani suggested has never been implemented directly. The idea of fabiani however has always continued to exist and its execution has been a process of many years, piece by piece. only in 2012 they completed the small ring road by adding the last missing piece, a bridge that is symbolically named after fabiani: the Fabiani Bridge.

RiNG CiTY

fabiani Bridge, 2012 (The banks of the Ljubljanica river)

Postcard of Ljubljana, 1916 (Potovanje iz Ljubljane v Šiško)

Spatial plan for Ljubljana by Max fabiani, 1895 (Maks fabiani Nove meje v arhitekturi, p.35)

Principles based on maps of Ljubljana around 1900 (1910, 1880, Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije)

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43country roadriver current ring road planned ring road by Max Fabiani

Max Fabiani bridge

N0 1km

river line topo lineriver line village

N0 1km

country roadriver current ring road planned ring road by Max Fabiani

Max Fabiani bridge

N0 1km

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DECoMPRESSED CiTY

When looking at the city of today, it can be seen that the expansions of the city did not follow the model of the concentric city, but extended further. The area inside the bypass is not as dense as in the other ‘circles’. Nevertheless, the idea of the concentric city still exists among its citizens. You can see that the highways built to redirect the national traffic around the city centre create a very strong line in the city landscape. Even though it does not form a real boundary for the city growth, for many inhabitants it is an imaginary border of a more concentric city, an edge between the inner and outer city.

Within the idea of a concentric city, we can see that the historical city centre, built around the riverbanks in the inner circle, is getting intensively renewed. Today this is considered as the new core of the city, not only for tourists but also for the inhabitants of the city. for inhabitants, more than for tourists, the new centre of the concentric city extends to the whole area within the small ring: here everyday life takes place. Also when looking at the spatial plans of Ljubljana, the focus does not lie on expanding the city, but more on densifying the existing urban fabric inside this big ring road. This is a strategy that restores the idea of a more concentric city model.

Renewal of the riverbanks (Public Space Award 2012)

Principles based on maps of Ljubljana of 2014 (Geodetski inštitut Slovenije; Google Maps)

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45ring roadriver imaginary inner city imaginary outer city

N0 1km

river line topo lineriver line village

N0 1km

ring roadriver imaginary inner city imaginary outer city

N0 1km

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LjuBLjANA AS A CoNCENTRiC CiTY

Through time the city has known a concentric growth, where the boundaries of the city kept moving further away from the city centre. The different circles are still tangible in the city’s fabric. Today the city keeps growing, but there is no clear boundary anymore. one could say that the bypass is more a psychological than a physical boundary, since the bypass does provide connections on a national scale.

The construction of the bypass has defined what lies inside and outside the city. The area within the bypass is considered as the city and is thus more attractive. Therefore the pressure of upcoming developments has increased in this area. The part outside the bypass is now less a part of the city, which makes it less attractive for urban development projects.

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47imaginary inner city imaginary outer city boundaries through timeriver

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Next to the idea of a concentric city, the city started to grow in a totally different way after 1900. We look at the city as a radial city, a city model in which the city grows from a centre, providing the necessary functions along a number of axes called the radials of the city.

THE RADiAL CiTY

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RADiAL DEVELoPMENT

Ljubljana is a textbook example of a radial city; it still is the model where the city is most associated with. When analysing the map of 1940, it is clear that the city underwent some remarkable expansions. instead of the circular growth the city was familiar with, the city now started growing along its axes. The developments next to the radials found their origin in the beginning of the 20th century and were the result of a spontaneous growth of the city. The country roads, which had only served as connecting roads for centuries, received a totally new meaning and were included in the urban fabric of the city.

The radial growth of the city is also reflected in the expansion of the tram network. The first tram network in Ljubljana dates from 1901: it was a small-scale network that, in general terms, only operated in the concentric ring city. The expansions of this network happened between 1930 and 1940. on the new infrastructure lines you can clearly see that the system has been designed for the new developed radial axes of the city.

This tramway system stayed operative until 1958. in those days, the system could not withstand the growing transportation needs of the city. Also the growing use of personal cars demanded more street surface than before. The trams were exchanged for trolleybuses that still used the power lines set up for the tramways, but stopped using the tracks. After a lot of trouble with the trolleybuses, Ljubljana eventually switched to the use of a more flexible network, set up for buses. This was followed by the removal of the power lines above the streets.

Trolley busses since 1958 (Démodé postcards)

first tramlines, 1901 (Ljubljana tramvej)

Principles based on maps of Ljubljana around 1940 (1942, Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije; Ljubljanski tramvaj on Geopedia)

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51radial tramway 1901 tramway 1940 railwayradial development

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GREEN WEDGES

it was Edvard Ravnikar who mapped the phenomenon of the radial development of Ljubljana and made a study on this subject together with a group of students. in this study they designed 400-metre wide city corridors that were built up with a sequence of residential neighbourhoods. They proposed a high-rise development with special accents at public transport stops. The building profile would drop from the central radial towards the edges and finally end up in low, single-family houses. The different city corridors were separated by green, non-built-up spaces, extending all the way to the city centre: the so called green lobes.

These studies where the basis for the first, major urban development plan for Ljubljana. The radial development and the green wedges were the main topics. The plan was prepared by a group of Ravnikar’s younger students in 1966 at the newly established ‘okrajni zavod za urbani¬zem’. This organisation renamed later to ‘Ljubljanski urbanistični zavod’ (LuZ), the urban planning institute of Ljubljana that is still active today.

When taking a closer look at the diversity of the green lobes in between these corridors, we see that different characters emerge. Two wedges are the result of big topographic differences (a). These wedges are very clearly defined and are still visible in the current city structure. There are also several wedges which are strictly limited by the railway lines (b). in this case the tracks form a strong boundary between built-up and non-built-up areas. on the other hand, the presence of these tracks gives the non-built space the potential for new developments, such as railway dependent industries. A third kind of green lobes is characterized by a less solid form (c): boundaries are not clearly defined and exist on the edge between built-up and non-built-up space. These areas are therefore more vulnerable to random developments and have an unstable existence.

idea of the city, by LuZ, 1965 (Ljubljana: portret mesta)

Spatial plan by Ravnikar, 1955 (Ljubljana: portret mesta)

Principles based on a commercial city map of Ljubljana of 1960 (Geodetski inštitut Slovenije)

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DEDuPLiCATED fuNCTioNS

With the construction of the new highways, which seem to form a sort of secondary ring road around Ljubljana, the idea of the radial city is twisted. This new infrastructure works as a second radial system and takes the impact of the national traffic for its account. The existing radials of the smaller radial system only maintain their role to serve the inner city.

Hereby a double system originates, where they each have their own function. Nevertheless they are inextricably connected with each other. Suddenly several new radials arise (a) (b), or existing radials get straightened (c); this to obtain an as efficient as possible interaction between the national and regional radial system and allow the range of the city to extend.

An example of such a new axis is the Barjanska Cesta in the south of Ljubljana. it forms a new connection created by using several existing roads and connecting them with new pieces. The last piece, completed in 2005, caused a straightening of the axis by connecting it with the inner circle network.

Completion of the Barjanska Cesta, 2004 (Google Earth)

Principles based on maps of Ljubljana of 2014 (Geodetski inštitut Slovenije; Google Maps)

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55national radial systemregional radial system new radial

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LjuBLjANA AS A RADiAL CiTY

This map reveals the ambiguity that is present in the current radial city. The system of green lobes, an idea that originated from the first, regional radial system, gets cut off by the second, national radial system.

The continued existence of the green wedges becomes threatened by several elements. The bypass divides the green wedges and due to growing development along the axes the wedges shrink. Lastly, the new axes are not adjusted to the old radial system that is complementary to the model of the green lobes. We can see that future infrastructures will pierce some of the new lobes, which could lead to tensions.

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57double radial system railway

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At some point the idea of the radial city reached its limit. it started to fade out and a network took over the radial city model. in this section Ljubljana as a network city is explored and illustrated. The model of the network city has no clear city centre; instead multiple centres are appearing with an efficient connection between them. We focus on the morphology that is related to the network city model, and not on the others aspects of it.

THE NETWoRK CiTY

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iNfiLL BETWEEN THE RADiALS

With an increasing population and more industrialisation, Ljubljana kept growing and the idea of expanding the city only along the radials became unrealistic. Areas for industry, housing and other programs were more favourable close to the city centre than further away. Since the late sixties, developments started to settle around the city centre, filling up the empty in-between spaces. These developments introduced a network that connected the different axes with each other. The concentric growth of the city started to overlap with the radial growth that characterized the city for years. The superposition of these two models introduced the first signs of an arising network.

The infill between the radials has different characters. in the south, these unused areas filled up little by little, mostly by illegal housing. They created a network of roads, often built on the logic of small pieces of ribbon development. in the north, a lot of these areas were linked to the railway system and were therefore claimed by the industry. Hereby they created many new jobs and the locals could work closer to home with an easy and fast connection between both. The topography of the eastern and western wedges makes it impossible to condense them. These areas were more or less preserved as green zones.

industry between the radial developments

Principles based on a commercial city map of Ljubljana of 1980 (Geodetski inštitut Slovenije)

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NoDES AND CoNNECTioNS

A network consists of nodes and connections between them. over time the network between the radials evolved to a full network with nodes and connections throughout the entire city. The radials and highways became part of a new model. Some of these nodes, interpreted as important points of Ljubljana, and their access routes to frequently used roads are indicated on the map.

The nodes are no longer concentrated in the ancient city centre. This centre still houses many historical monuments and can today be perceived mostly as a touristic focal point, accessible from all directions. on the other hand, many new developments, like the Stožice Sports Park and the BTC shopping centre, are located outside the centre, close to the bypass.

This bypass plays an important role in the extension of the network city; it has induced a network of new access roads around the entire city. This created opportunities for new projects, which could now even operate on a national scale. One example is the Stožice Sports Park for which a new access road was built. Another example is how BTC went from storage to retail when the bypass was completed: at that point it became easy accessible and attractive for the whole of Slovenia. Besides the rise of big new development projects, older projects, like the water reservoir or the hippodrome gain importance due to the bypass: the easier access makes them potential focal points in Ljubljana.

The new connecting roads around Ljubljana stimulate the use of the car: they are designed for vehicles, although gradually more bicycle routes are finding their way through the car-oriented web. The city centre is nowadays focussing on pedestrian access roads. Also the busses contribute to the network city. it can be seen that the bus routes follow the imposed network, and are even expanding it by accessing smaller roads. in contrast with the previous tram, which followed the radial roads, the bus routes are more flexible, operating in between the radials as well. This is one of the reasons why the city chose to invest in an optimised bus network instead of a new tram system.

The nodes, which represent employment, trade, etc. indicate how different functions get combined, and how not everything is focussed on the centre anymore. The mixing of living, working, and entertainment creates small centres that are self-containing, where the distances in between are small and the accessibility is optimal. The still uncompleted Stožice project envisions, besides sports facilities, an underground shopping centre and a big recreation park on top, with the intention that all everyday activities can happen at the same place. This mixed use shows how Ljubljana functions as a network city..

Pedestrian area in the historical centre, 2013 (Green capital 2016)

BTC shopping complex

Stožice Sports Park

Principles based on a map of Ljubljana of 2014 (Google Maps)

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63Node access road bypass bus route

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With the infill of space between the radials, but also with the new development nodes and their connections, the idea of the green lobes originating from the radial city model is fading away. The network model does no longer show open lobes, instead a new green structure appears: one where the landscape is not continuous, but fragmented and dispersed. The fragments form little islands, working together or standing on their own, depending on how much development and infrastructure pierced through them. Both infrastructure and landscape interact or interfere with each other, instead of having clear borderlines between development and natural area, like it was the case in the radial city.

The bypass plays a very important role in this fragmentation process. it cuts off the green lobes and even pierces through the topographically formed wedges in the east and west. The infill of the in-between spaces happens mainly inside the bypass. The remnants of the lobes inside of the ring road are under a lot of development pressure. outside this ring road, this pressure is often less present and a rural character with an open landscape prevails.

Though, the city has the intention to preserve the idea of the green lobes as much as possible. in the strategic plans the remaining landscape is indicated as unbuildable zone, trying to prevent further development rooting there. furthermore, a green regime is implemented on several places, like in the northern industry zone. This implies that when constructing, a certain amount of open space has to be preserved. it is a noble initiative that shows the importance of the green lobe idea for Ljubljana, but in everyday life, these ‘open’ spaces are hardly perceived as ‘green’.

fRAGMENTATioN of THE GREEN WEDGES

Strategical plan for Ljubljana, 2006. The dashed lines show the green regime-areas (Strategic spatial plan MoL)

Principles based on a map of Ljubljana of 2014 (Google Maps)

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LjuBLjANA AS A NETWoRK CiTY

The overlay of all the elements contributing to the idea of Ljubljana as a network city shows an extensive network, with countless connections and nodes, which inevitably fragments the open space of the city. The network city is the most recent model in Ljubljana, but this does not mean that the other models are repressed. The radials for example are part of the extensive network, but their specific structure is still visible in the city’s tissue.

This network model is hard to extend on the larger scale: when looking at the whole of Slovenia, the parallel bundles clearly follow the radial model, with the centre in Ljubljana. With a lack of connections between other larger cities, it is in no way comparable with for example the idea of flanders as a network city, where all towns form little nodes that are connected. in Ljubljana this only applies on the scale of the city itself.

Where the radial city is regulated by a planned model, the network city does not originate from a well-thought-through blueprint for Ljubljana. The network city is evolving more arbitrary: places suitable for development projects get built up because of economic benefits. These places need access roads and that is how the network is created. There is no larger spatial image coupled to this model, it is out of smaller financial, political, etc. interests that the model takes shape.

The strategic plans for Ljubljana though show that some drawings are composed in an attempt to regulate this densification of the city. Rules for green zones prevent that all economically interesting spaces get built up. The green regime measure on the other hand shows how hard it is to act against this natural tendency: they try to fix or compensate what could not be avoided in the first place.

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CiTY MoDELS oVER TiME

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THE LiNEAR CiTY Line villages

Core city Ring cityTHE CoNCENTRiC CiTY

THE RADiAL CiTY

THE NETWoRK CiTY

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Decompressed city

Radial development Green wedges Deduplicated functions

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This chapter shows that the morphology of Ljubljana can be interpreted simultaneously in four ways. Although the different models became clearly visible in the city’s morphology chronologically and built on each other, each model is still tangible in the urban fabric of today. The transitions between the models did not succeed each other, like Price suggests with his egg-theory, but were parallel.

Some infrastructures play an important role in several models, like the radial roads and the bypass. it is important to understand that these elements have different meanings according to each city model. This emphasizes the simultaneity of the models. in the next chapter we will show that these four models allow us to analyze every part of the city, even one specific infrastructure line, in various, co-existing ways, according to which model they are linked to.

Lastly, we want to nuance the idea that in our reading each model originated at a different time. it is true that the moment the models became visible as an important and clear structure for the city, differs for each model. But we could say that through time all models were present, only less prominently. The network city, for example, is a model we ascribed to the city as a model of the last 30 years. Though, it is also visible in other periods of the history in various forms and scales. in the 17th century the summer palaces of the royal families, in connection with Ljubljana, could be described as the nodes of a network. in the 19th century, when Slovenia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ljubljana was a node in the network of roads extending over the whole territory.

CiTY MoDELS

The Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1867–1918 (New Complete Atlas of the World)

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iiiŠTAjERSKA CESTA:

SYMBoL of THE NETWoRK CiTY

One specific infrastructural line is the Štajerska cesta. The cesta, completed in 2009, is one of the most

recent developments in Ljubljana. The road connects the city centre with the northern municipalities of

Ljubljana and is constructed with the idea of Ljubljana as a network city in mind, but has an impact on the

other city models as well.

in this chapter we investigate how the cesta can be related to the four city models that we determined. This way the meaning of the Štajerska cesta for each model

is described. finally, the actual expression of the cesta is shown by explaining how specific city models

influenced the different profiles of the road.

The Štajerska cesta (by M. Prelc)

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The Štajerska cesta has an impact on the different city models. When looking at the cesta through each model, the road and its meaning can be interpreted differently. We take a closer look at how the cesta is embedded in these four city models, firstly by looking at the infrastructure associated with each model, then by considering the landscaping implications of each model.

MEANiNG foR THE CiTY MoDELS

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iMPACT oN iNfRASTRuCTuRE

Laying the Štajerska cesta in the linear city model shows that the linear villages along the Sava river are cut in two by the new infrastructure. The cesta also punctures through the bypass defining the concentric city model. When placing the road in the radial city, it can be seen as a new radial that defines a clear direction from the city centre to the northern parts of Ljubljana. in the network city, the Štajerska cesta fits perfectly in the denser becoming network of nodes and infrastructures. it also gives access to the bypass and is hereby connected to the national scale.

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The linear city The concentric city

The radial city The network city

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The Štajerska cesta is part of the network that is lying over Ljubljana today. it fulfills the primary function of this model: it connects different nodes and elements from different city models with each other. The Štajerska cesta intersects with an outgrow of the Dunajska cesta-radial (a) and the industrial expansion of the line villages (b). Southwards, the cesta crosses the linear villages along the Sava, but there is no direct connection between the two. The cesta does also connect with the bypass (c). This part of the road, outside the bypass, is a supplier, leading people to and from the city; it connects bigger infrastructures in a fast and efficient way.

Within the bypass the road exits lie closer to each other and the roundabouts slow down the traffic. Here, the cesta spreads out its branches in different directions, merging with the inner city network; the road distributes the traffic over the inner city network.

When walking or biking along the cesta, it is striking how hard it is to get from one point to another. Crossing the bypass along the cesta is not possible. The Štajerska cesta is clearly constructed with the network model in mind, but it is only the network for motorized vehicles that was taken into account. The network for the vulnerable road users has been ignored until today.

Principles based on a map of Ljubljana of 2014 (Google Maps)

foRMiNG of A NETWoRK

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iMPACT oN LANDSCAPE

The Štajerska cesta also shows some implications on the landscape related to these different city models. The line villages are part of a linear system defined by the topography in the valley of the Sava river. The road cuts through this system of linear strips.

The environmental equivalent of the concentric bypass is the concentric PoT-route. This Path of Remembrance and Comradeship is a circular gravel-paved walking trail in Ljubljana. it was completed in 1985 in remembrance of the fence enclosing the Slovenes during the Second World War. Pedestrians and cyclists use the path intensively. This one too, is torn apart by the Štajerska cesta.

The green lobes, a consequence of the radial model, are incised. Whereas the developments along the radial have been narrowing the open space gradually, the cesta cuts right through it. With the cesta’s many connections and distribution roads in the city’s network, the open space gets fragmented into even smaller parts and gets fragile for city expansions.

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The linear valley The concentric PoT-route

The green lobe The fragmented landscape

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The new piece of network-infrastructure cuts through the landscape and fragments the green wedge that once existed between the radials. The amount of fragmentation is proportional to the amount of pressure for new developments on the landscape, since the open parts become more easily accessible, and thus more attractive to build on. The fragmentation of this landscape is different inside and outside the bypass, which creates an imaginary border of the city.

Within the bypass the cesta spreads out and a patchwork of small open spaces has arisen. The development pressure on these fragments has risen largely since that these areas are now better connected to the inner city network and the ring road. The construction of the Stožice stadiums was the beginning of the infill of the open landscape. Meanwhile, many other design competitions, like the ones for a university campus and fire station, have been launched in the surroundings. The development pressure on the landscape outside the bypass dropped, because this area is not considered part of the city anymore and is thus less attractive. The road cuts the open space in two and is somehow interwoven in the landscape.

Besides this pressure due to the new development, the infrastructure itself is a threat for the landscape too: cars introduce noise, Co2-pollution and other emissions. Where the road cuts through nature, ecological systems are disrupted. The forest in the north got split, and crossing it became almost impossible. The ‘island-theory’ says that there has to be enough interaction between different species in order to keep a genetic diversity. By constructing roads through an area, small islands emerge and the necessary interaction becomes harder to achieve. Also within the bypass the Štajerska cesta and its exits cut through the agricultural fields, creating smaller islands of open space. Missing connections between the islands prove that biological life was not taken into account when constructing the new infrastructure.

Principles based on a map of Ljubljana of 2014 (Google Maps)

fRAGMENTATioN of THE LANDSCAPE

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The previous section showed a road cutting brutally through the landscape: it is wide and linear, functioning on its own, connecting nodes without considering the natural systems it crosses. This has to be nuanced when looking at the actual manifestation of the Štajerska cesta. We recognise three different profiles: the slot, the plain and the deck. The road has a certain position relative to its surroundings; therefore various visual relations are experienced. These shapes can be explained as result of specific city models interfering with the Štajerska cesta.

EXPRESSioN AS A RESuLT of THE CiTY MoDELS

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PLAiN

The red lines show where the Štajerska cesta lies on the same level as its surroundings. When one stands in the open space around it, the road is visible. The plain can be considered as the default modus of the network: this is the general form of the large and fast, connecting road. This expression is comparable to the one of the radials, where the main roads give direct access to the adjacent houses or other developments. However, in this case no development is connected directly to the Štajerska cesta.

0 10m 50m

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0 10m 50m

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1 View from the Štajerska cesta (Google Street View)

2 View from the fields along the Štajerska cesta (Google Street View)

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DECK

When crossing the lower lying bypass, the Štajerska cesta is an elevated roundabout, continuing as an elevation over the Sava valley. Above the Sava river and its recreational path, the road is a transparent deck, leaving the space underneath it open and untouched. it still cuts through the linear villages south of the river and the forest in the north.

This shows that at some points the network infrastructure had to adapt to the linear elements, and at others it created a hierarchy whereby the linear model is less valued. The Sava river is the oldest and most robust form of linearity, and is strong enough to force the road over it, instead of through it. The other linear strips, like the forest or linear villages are not strong enough to withstand this recent network-infrastructure.

0 10m 50m

1

2

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0 10m 50m

1 View from the bridge (Google Street View)

2 View from the walking trail along the Sava river on the bridge

0 10m 50m

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from the bypass towards the city centre the Štajerska cesta is dug in the landscape. Besides the reduction of noise, the cesta might have been executed this way because the city realized that the green wedges, originated in the radial city, have great value and need to be respected. The network infrastructure recognises the presence of the radial model’s green lobes and tries to deal with it delicately.

The open space visually continues; the PoT-route, for example, can stay on the same level when crossing the Štajerska cesta, which makes the bridge not perceivable only until standing just in front of it. The level of the road makes it in a way harder to place development just next to the road, since direct access is not possible. Still, the many exit roads do allow development and help the green lobe getting filled up.

SLoT

0 10m 50m

1 2

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0 10m 50m

1 View from the lower lying road (Google Street View)

2 View from the PoT-route on the bridge and Štajerska cesta

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This chapter has indicated how thinking in terms of the four city models allows us to interpret specific elements of Ljubljana, like the Štajerska cesta, in different, complementary ways. We found that the cesta has a different meaning for the infrastructure and landscape related to each model.

The Štajerska cesta connects different nodes as efficiently as possible, like a network-infrastructure is supposed to do. The cesta connects the radial infrastructure with the concentric bypass and the city centre. The question rises if it would have been possible to include space for pedestrians and cyclists together with the construction of the cesta. Secondly, the Štajerska cesta cuts through landscape systems linked to each model, leaving the open space fragmented and dispersed.

Certain city models were robust enough to force the Štajerska cesta in varying expressions. This makes that the idea of a sharp incision has to be nuanced. Due to the profile of the cesta, the incisive road becomes more acceptable. its profile provides a certain integration with the surroundings which could entail some opportunities, like easy connections between fragmented parts.

ŠTAjERSKA CESTA

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work area of Hannelore work area of Seppe

N0 500m

line structures clitting development rivers original linear development

N0 1km

work area of Hannelore work area of Seppe

N0 500m

line structures clitting development rivers original linear development

N0 1km

work area of Hannelore work area of Seppe

N0 500m

line structures clitting development rivers original linear development

N0 1km

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EPiLoGuE

The urban transformation of Ljubljana has been a search for a versatile method to analyze the capital. Defining the four city models has helped us interpret the morphology of Ljubljana in several ways, where all interpretations are accurate simultaneously. The different models explain how the city evolved over time and make us understand the city’s current tissue in a less conventional way. The planners of Ljubljana have accepted, and implemented, the idea of the network model, as show the Stožice Sports centre and the plans for the new university campus. They are not implemented along a major distribution axis, like a radial or in the city centre, but on a former agricultural land, as a freestanding object. The Štajerska cesta, a symbol of the network city, cuts through different elements of the models and starts defining a clear hierarchy. This research has shown us the value of the layered city that Ljubljana is today. Therefore, we want to show that the city’s development can be done differently, whereby the city models can co-exist without a clear hierarchy. The area around the Štajerska cesta is where we will do this exercise. The infrastructure and landscape coupled to each model in this area are affected by the recently built network-infrastructure. Therefore, this area forms an excellent site to investigate design-wise how different models can appear simultaneously and work together to develop Ljubljana’s further. Hannelore will work outside the bypass, along the Sava valley, and implement a landscape strategy to reinforce the linear villages in the network city. Seppe will describe a landscape strategy to preserve the green lobes that are fragmented by the network.

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BASE MAPS

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1654

1834

1880

1910

1942

1960, 1980

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