At the BIG Festival, Deputy Mayor Prof. Janez Koželj received the Big SEE Architectural Visionary 2019 award.

The evening programme of the festival was marked by the debate with architectural visionaries moderated by architect Boštjan Vuga addressing the recipients of the Architectural Visionary 2019 award, professor Janez Koželj, Andrija Rusan from Croatia and Dijana Vučinić from Montenegro. Experts, who are enriching the architectural production, pushing its limits and stimulating creative powers in South-East Europe, spoke on the stage about the background of their life path, the creative passion which is driving them, the influences that left a mark on them, and their personal values and challenges.

Award justification

Boštjan Vuga, the award curator: »Fabiani’s Ljubljana, Plečnik’s Ljubljana, Ravnikar’s Ljubljana. Koželj’s Ljubljana? Yes, but with one important distinction: Koželj’s Ljubljana from the early 21st century is not made by one hand, by one architect as a demiurge, but it is a result of Prof. Janez Koželj’s vision as a city architect, an urbanist and the Deputy Mayor of the city of Ljubljana that a city is a living organism whose changing, metabolism and development is a work of many hands, many heads, many approaches which enable and stimulate diversity in the urban city space. Janez Koželj with his knowledge and work stimulates and balances different urban interventions in the city, such as we could not even imagine a good decade ago. Koželj’s Ljubljana is developing into a cosmopolitan city guided by the variety and diversity of urban impulses. And as Janez Koželj is also a practicing architect he knows what it means to build. Therefore, Koželj’s vision of Ljubljana turns into a project and this project in communication and cooperation with users, politicians, developers and designers can be actually carried out to become reality. I am curious where this vision leads to, what is the next qualitative leap, what is going to make the city even more attractive to live in. I am convinced Janez Koželj has already constructed a picture of Ljubljana in the near future, too. For this reason I nominate him for the Architectural Visionary 2019.«

About the BIG Festival

The Big Architecture Festival is part of the Big SEE platform which is promoting and supporting creative and business excellence in South-East Europe. It is a leading business and educational event for progressive architecture. By researching, evaluating and promoting architectural excellence it is building the business performance and the appeal of South-East Europe. It is a catalyst for deliberations about the key meaning of architecture in the environment taking into consideration and reacting to modern social challenges important for our existence, economy and future. In addition, the organizers are of the opinion that our region has a unique view on Europe and the rest of the world and that we can go beyond the general Eurocentric views and frameworks and offer something new and different.