Jože PLEČNIK

Joze Plecnik was a great Slovenian architect who tried to model the city of Ljubljana on ancient Athens. His style is associated with the Vienna Secession style of architecture, and his works dramatically transformed the identity of the city of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. A student of the famous architect Otto Wagner, Plecnik was someone known for his innovative and original designs characterized by elements of both classical principles of architecture as well as folk art traditions. He is credited to have designed several pioneering works of modern architecture and has left his indelible impact not only in the architecture of Ljubljana, but also on the European cities Vienna and Prague. Even though he undertook very few projects in Prague, he achieved phenomenal fame for his renovation work on the Prague Castle for use as the presidential residence. He also had a career as a teacher at the Arts and Crafts College where he inspired several young artists and architects with his brilliant teaching techniques. As an architect, he led to the complete transformation of the city of Ljubljana which was in dire need of a drastic make-over following the long Baroque period. He gave the city its modern, visitor-friendly identity by designing major projects like the Triple Bridge over the Ljubljanica and the iconic building, the Slovene National and University Library. /