At the beginning of this year, after 16 years, Deputy Mayor Prof. Janez Koželj handed over his duties to his successor, Ass. Prof. Rok Žnidaršič.
On this occasion, we published an interview in the magazine Ljubljana in which Prof. Koželj said that he is leaving with some bitterness, mainly because of the criticism he received from some professional circles, but that he is also proud that the city has fundamentally changed during his mandate, it has been reinvigorated and became what it is today: a lively, attractive capital, which is nice to live in or visit. Jak Vrečar spoke with Prof. Koželj.

Professor Koželj, humans can be forgetful. When I try to remember Ljubljana from 2006, that is at the beginning of your work at the City Hall, the first thing that comes to mind are heaps of cars in the strict centre, parking on Congress Square, chaotic car traffic, which made it difficult for pedestrians, for example, to walk on Wolf Street. And well, the deserted embankments of the Ljubljanica River... What do you remember?

To use an old foreign expression, the city was »schäbig«, shabby. The term may sound harsh, but a lot was wrong. This hurt me as a citizen and as an architect. You have already listed a few things. I will never forget that, for example, colleagues from abroad came and asked me if the facade of the building Kozolec at Bavarski dvor was still damaged from some war. The city was peeling, it was grey and colourless. I'm not only referring to the facades but to the overall appearance and character of the city. Nobody had dealt with Ljubljana's image for a long time before that, it was neglected. Above all, there was a kind of listlessness, a belief that nothing could be changed. Because what would happen if we started doing something? Then the newness would differ from everything else, that existed. These are the concerns I was faced with at the beginning. Well, in some places, even still today.

Are you referring here to the critics, who have been pretty loud actually all along?

Yes. I must admit that it often hurt me when people who should understand architecture loudly protested and criticized everything. Friends and professional colleagues warned me at the beginning that there would be obstacles in the way all the time. As a rule, the loudest are those who prefer to criticize rather than create. They deliberately overlook what is different, better. Look, at first, some people said that nothing could be done this way because the city architecture or the urban planning of Ljubljana is too complicated a puzzle. Then the city started to wake up, and we heard that we were just »sprucing up« the centre. And that it will be the end of the world if it's not possible to drive a car on the street Slovenska cesta. After we created a vast space for pedestrians and thereby made it possible for the architecture to become part of the aesthetic experience of the city, together with the redesigned public space, monuments, and renovated historic houses, they complained that this was just a backdrop, a postcard for tourists. In a city where the skyscraper Nebotičnik has been standing for almost a century, they were bothered that we were promoting vertical development, that is, higher buildings in the centre. And that we are taking the city from the people at the expense of the external image. That we are causing gentrification, that we don't care about the citizens. But it's not true!

What are you proud of?

It's not about what I'm proud of myself. This isn't about the personal achievements of one man. It's about the fact that, together with many who accepted the challenge, we ensured that the city finally began to develop again. That we remained faithful to the heritage of the rich architectural and urban planning tradition, Fabiani's, Plečnik's, and Ravnikar's Ljubljana. I am convinced that today Ljubljana is a nice city to live in. It is a friendly city, it has its own character. It's open to locals and visitors. And it's not just about the appearance of houses or broad areas for pedestrians. It's about the city having an image and energy that is transmitted to the people. If the city is orderly and attractive, we are more relaxed. We behave and communicate differently. We simply live differently. Remember Ljubljana, which was a »ghost town« over the weekend, from which even its citizens fled because they couldn't relax and enjoy themselves. Nowadays, we go for a walk, ride a bike, take time for ourselves by the water or in the park, and meet up with friends. Life is better in a beautiful city, and Ljubljana is beautiful now.

Can we share it with tourists? Here too, we are hearing there are too many visitors, that they are crowding us out...

The fact is that tourism is hard to stop. When we go somewhere else, we enjoy the beauty of other places and want to see what is most beautiful. It is the same when others come to us. The fact that Ljubljana is so recognizable today, that it has a reputation abroad, and that it is a desirable destination is recognition and an opportunity for everyone. By entering the UNESCO World Heritage List, Plečnik's city has a similar status as Gaudi's Barcelona. It is a small metropolis, but it has a disproportionately large number of different cultural events, for example, the Ljubljana Festival. It has rich cuisine, and you can already feel the Mediterranean pulse of the city by the water. It has a promenade along the river, river regattas, and paddle boarding, in short, it has been reinvigorated in this aspect too. All these are advantages of the city, which are not intended exclusively for residents or tourists. If we proceed wisely, we can all continue to enjoy it.

You mentioned the river pulse. Nine new bridges are also part of your legacy.

A small footbridge or a connecting bridge, such as the one at the Cukrarna Gallery, is all part of a larger story. It's about opening up the city so that the public space is growing. Life has awakened along the Petkovšek Embankment all the way to the Rog Centre, so now we have a section along the Ljubljanica River that winds much further than before. But this isn't my personal work. I'm proud that during »my« years, we have carried out almost 50 tenders. If we estimate that some ten projects applied in each tender and that ten people worked in each team, that's five thousand people who were thinking about how Ljubljana could develop and how this could improve life in the city. For example, eight architectural bureaus were involved in the work of designing embankments and new content along the Ljubljanica River. This is something we can all be proud of.

You are leaving with a well »ticked off« list of projects you have set yourself.

The difference between ordinary politics in Slovenia and ours is that we have actually done something. In 2010, 22 projects were entered into the municipal spatial plan of the City of Ljubljana. »Let's go to work instead of just making promises,« we told each other. And we have finished all but two or three projects where there were just too many stakeholders and complications. During this time, quite a few governments have changed at the national level, and 16 state projects in the capital – because Ljubljana is by no means just a city in itself but also the heart of Slovenia – are still at a standstill. We cannot point out even one state architectural project in the city in recent decades. The largest construction pit, but on paper, the long-completed National and University Library NUK 2, and the like are stains that the city alone can't fix. I'm an optimist, at least when it comes to the most glaring issues. I believe that in the coming years, the city will finally get a much-needed bus and train station. The city is doing everything it can here, but you must realize that this is by no means a project of the City of Ljubljana but a broader story.

What do you want to see in Ljubljana in the future?

I'm convinced that the city can develop further. New projects are already underway, including two new swimming pool complexes and two sports centres – athletics and climbing. As well as social housing near the city centre, the »garden towns« Hrušica and Sibirija... Because it has a vision and a strategy, and because we have proven in over a decade and a half that we can implement plans, I expect that Ljubljana will continue to systemically transform itself even faster into a sustainable city. We have been selected for the Mission of 100 carbon-free and climate-neutral cities by 2030. The city will become a laboratory for good practices in all areas: digitization, green solar energy, circular economy, self-sufficient organic agriculture, public transport with hydrogen buses, city trains, and city logistics. I see a Ljubljana in which there are sustainable buildings made of wood, where they know how to manage rainwater, urban forests, and urban greenery.