OHS AWARD 2022

In addition to the architectural festival, which took place throughout the country at the end of May, this year we again organized voting for the OHS AWARD, the first Slovenian award for architectural achievements conferred by the public to authors, owners and contractors. All projects selected by the expert jury in the annual programme of the festival were nominated. The mission of the Open House Slovenia festival is to bring good architecture and the importance of a well-built space closer to the general public. The OHS AWARD is therefore not awarded by the professionals, but by the public expressing their opinion on Slovenian architectural production and establishing a dialogue with it.

Among the almost 60 nominated projects, the public chose the Damir Feigl Library – National and Study Library in Gorizia (authors: Waltritsch A + U I Architetti Urbanisti), located in Fabiani’s Trgovski dom (Chamber of Commerce), as the best in the category of public buildings. The chamber used to represent the centre of the Slovenian community in Gorizia and its diverse activities. The library is designed as a dynamic path across several floors and spaces for different needs – from stimulating dialogue at the entrance to more classic study spaces above. The mezzanine at the entrance also includes a circular element that highlights the connection to the corner dome on the roof – an urban announcement of the presence of a palace on the main street.

The award in the category of public buildings was also given to the project Štanjel Castle – the interior of the north-west palace (authors: Projekt d. d.). The interior renovation project was guided by the main idea – to clearly present the original quality structures, separate from the new ones.

In the category of private buildings, the award was given to two single-family homes. Before the renovation, House MM (authors: a2o2 arhitekti) in the centre of Domžale was one of the few still preserved typical houses in the town. The architects preserved the identity of the old building and breathed new life into it with modern functionalities.

The OHS AWARD was also awarded to the Single Family House Polica (author: ARHI-TURA, Bojan Mrežar), which is an example of a modern family home. Locally selected spruce and fir wood and clay plasters in the interior give the building additional sustainable value.

Congratulations to all the winners!