On Thursday 24 September 2015, following two years of renovation work Plečnik House in Trnovo is being reopened to visitors.

The architect’s home with preserved, authentic living quarters and personal belongings and a magnificent garden has been complemented with a new museum staging of Plečnik’s life and works. A new study centre has been established and spaces for temporary exhibitions as well as presentational and educational programmes have been arranged. The renovation of Plečnik House, a cultural monument and an extraordinary item of the 20th century heritage, was marked by the excellent cooperation of employees of the municipal administration, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, the Museum & Galleries of Ljubljana and the many committed contractors who carried out the work. An open museum since 1974, Plečnik House is a cultural and tourist pearl of Ljubljana which – after the renovation – has become a starting point for exploring Plečnik’s Ljubljana and the creative mind of the great master Jože Plečnik – an icon of our capital city. The renovation cost €2,264,620.00. The Museum & Galleries of Ljubljana anticipates 6,000 visitors in the first year, and 10,000 visitors annually in the years to come.

Blaž Peršin, Director of the Museum & Galleries of Ljubljana (MGML), underlines that following the renovation Plečnik House represents the starting point for exploring Plečnik’s Ljubljana because »Plečnik House in Trnovo encapsulates the comprehension of Jože Plečnik’s creative mind. The small house, then on the fringes of the city, in which he made his home epitomizes his entire categorical approach to how architecture is understood and thought about. The ascetically conceived house creates a dwelling so rarely encountered these days: a dwelling on the scale of the man who lives and creates within. Plečnik House can be understood as a laboratory for investigating the architect’s life, work and mission left as his legacy. The renovated Plečnik House ensures that we will more easily comprehend and investigate the work of Jože Plečnik – an icon of the City of Ljubljana«.

For the past eight years, the renovation of Plečnik’s House was led by Jerneja Batič from the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Ljubljana, which owns the house and paid for the renovation. Ms Batič notes that the renovation project embraced a series of essential activities: »In the course of the renovation, the Museum & Galleries of Ljubljana took a complete inventory of the heritage of Plečnik’s collection and digitised Plečnik’s original plans; an agreement on cooperation between the Museum & Galleries of Ljubljana and the Museum of Architecture and Design – with both safeguarding the heritage – was reached; thanks to the renovation, spaces for a new permanent exhibition and temporary exhibitions have been gained; a new study centre for the investigation of Plečnik’s heritage has been established; the house has been made accessible to persons with impaired mobility and we successfully completed a demanding renovation of Plečnik House and garden«. The renovation process will also be presented in a special publication currently being prepared by MGML that is to be presented – along with a film about the renovation – at a special event presumably in November of this year.

Preserving the original appearance of the house’s exterior and interior including Plečnik’s authentic internal and external furnishings was the responsibility of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia (ZVKDS) and Irena Vesel, the conservator in charge, who highlights that the house was in serious need of renovation: »At first glance, the house appeared to be in good condition so we assessed that only urgent maintenance works should be undertaken on the installations and the inner and outer shells. However, probing, a thorough cleaning and the damage caused by the elements all showed that more would be necessary. All of the materials were in extremely poor condition. The woodwork and all built-in timber were in an extremely bad state and therefore needed strengthening and conserving. Examining the house's structure allowed us to thoroughly learn about all its features and discover all the interventions in it undertaken and completed by Plečnik«. The conservation of the woodwork, wood and stone parts was accomplished by the Restoration Centre of ZVKDS, while the Conservation Services of MGML headed by Katarina Toman Kracina took care of 1,118 original, small items of Plečnik and about 1,500 books and magazines.
Alongside the house’s renovation, the renewal of Plečnik’s garden in line with conservation norms took place; the project was run by Darja Pergovnik from the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Regional Unit Ljubljana.

PLEČNIK – A NEW PERMANENT EXHIBITION
A novelty in the renovated Plečnik House is a permanent exhibition prepared by Ana Porok, the Plečnik collection’s curator at the Museum & Galleries of Ljubljana, who was assisted by her colleagues. In terms of content, the exhibition is divided into two parts, the architect’s works in Vienna, Prague and particularly Ljubljana, and his private life. In the entrance hall, the visitor comes to know Plečnik’s biography, the key events in his life and work, his contemporaries and the buildings of his time. Then two critical places of his creative work are presented – Vienna with Zacherl House and Prague with Prague Castle. The largest room is dedicated to presenting Plečnik’s works in Ljubljana; a model of Ljubljana highlighting Plečnik’s urban prospects and buildings. Some original designs are placed in the drawers of the base carrying the model and digital screens are located next to the model to allow for more detailed searches. A selection of Plečnik’s great projects in Ljubljana is presented on the walls: the Žale cemetery, the National and University Library, and the Main Market. In the following small room, Plečnik’s unrealised visions of Ljubljana are presented where special attention is paid to the Cathedral of Freedom, the architect’s vision of the Slovenian Parliament. The final exhibition space on the ground floor is the so-called Urška’s room where Plečnik’s housekeeper Urška Luzar lived during his lifetime. Plečnik’s personal world is put on display in here – his family and origin, his years of study, his contemporaries and his students. His personal photographs and items, awards, photographs and some objects Plečnik designed are shown here.

A NEW PLEČNIK STUDY CENTRE
The renovated Plečnik House is becoming an important study centre since a special space is intended for all those who study Plečnik’s work. Researchers will have access to Plečnik’s digitised designs; by prior arrangement, they will also be able to view and examine Plečnik’s original designs kept by MGML in a storage facility with appropriate climatic conditions needed for storing paper.

TEMPORARY EXHIBITION, PLEČNIK CLASSROOM AND MUSEUM SHOP
The first temporary exhibition on display upon the opening of the House will present the story of the renovation. It was prepared by Arrea, d.o.o (Maruša Zorec), ZVKDS (Irena Vesel and Darja Pergovnik who was in charge of renewing Plečnik’s garden) and the Restoration Centre of ZVKDS (Mateja Kavčič, responsible for carrying out the restoration work). An additional space called Plečnik classroom is intended for programmes aimed at various publics (schools, adults, children etc.). The museum section is complemented by a museum shop featuring a new range of products and publications, with more products and publications to be added in the future.

VISITING AND ADMISSION FEE
Plečnik House is open to visitors from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Guided tours for up to 7 people are conducted every hour on the hour, the last one at 5 p.m. Guided tours for private groups are available if prior notice is given.
Admission fee: €6, reduced €4, families €12.
Scheduled guided tours: up to 4 persons €30; 4 or more persons €7 per person, reduced €5 per person.
Pedagogical programmes: €4 per person.

PLEČNIK HOUSE IN NUMBERS
36 – the number of years Plečnik lived in his house in Trnovo
100 – how many years since the house in Trnovo was purchased – it was bought by the brother Andrej to become a home for all of the Plečniks
€2,264,620 – the total cost of the renovation project
10,000 – the expected annual number of visitors to Plečnik House
528 – Plečnik House’s floor area in square metres before the renovation
756 – Plečnik House’s floor area in square metres, including the newly acquired spaces after the renovation
2,435 – the size of the magnificent garden stretching out on the western side of the house in square metres
8 – how many years the renovation project took from preparation of the documentation until opening of the House
17,605 – the number of movable items in the Plečnik collection