Connecting the city’s central park Zvezda with the Plečnik Square in front of the Maximarket department store, the Plečnik Underpass is one of the busiest pedestrian routes between the old and the new centre of Ljubljana. In the carefully thought-out design of architect Bitenc from the sixties, the stairs and the ramps descend slowly to the level of the underpass, leaving enough space for the presentation of roman artefacts found at this site. From the very beginning, there were a few shops in the underpass, however, due to insufficient maintenance, they fell into decay. For quite some time, the walls of the underpass were covered in graffiti, the plaster was dropping off, the lamps were shattered, and an unpleasant stench was floating out of it.

With the road works below, there arose a chance to renovate and bring new life to the underpass. With the renovation, we had two things in mind: to renovate the stairs and the ramps as well as redefine the underpass and its shops. We decided on using metal wall panels, since they are multifunctional and thus at the same time provide the space for lamps, dustbins, and benches. The perforations prevent graffiti painting; their gold colour creates a pleasant ambience. Every second panel can be opened, so that during the day a shop window comes to life, while during the night, the closed panels protect the windows from vandalism. At both entrances to the underpass, where there is still enough daylight, we placed wooden benches reaching out of the metal panels.