Congress and culture center of the Dominican Monastery Ptuj

In its over 800 years of history, the Dominican monastery in Ptuj has hosted a military barracks with a hospital, a museum, and social housing, all of which resulted in extensive modifications of the original construction. Recently, the municipality of Ptuj wished to restore the building’s historical and artistic value by dedicating it to a cultural and congress centre, which has always been the role of the monastery. The wall paintings had to await a later restoration, so the intervention was mostly limited to the floor and all the utilities were placed underground, such as electrical installations, heating and ventilation, lightning and sound systems. The unifying element of the complex is its black concrete pavement which serves as an elegant, monumental background to the old building elements.