ENGAGING WITH NATURE IN THE CITY

Text description provided by the architects. In the very centre of Ljubljana, a water sculpture has been realized nine years after winning a public design competition. Conceived as both a spatial and symbolic contribution to the city's public realm, it introduces a distinct micro-ambient within the dense urban fabric – a small urban "platform" whose continuous, rounded form establishes a separate, almost intimate space amid the city's bustle.

Shaped as a continuous spatial loop, the sculpture frames and directs views while generating a sequence of ever-changing visual experiences. For passers-by, it presents a dynamic silhouette that reveals itself differently from every vantage point.

The sculpture is not an object to be merely walked around. It is conceived as a spatial experience that invites passers-by to become part of it. Rather than separating the observer from the artwork, it incorporates them through movement, touch, sitting, and inhabiting the space within its lines. It creates a place that is not only seen but also experienced.

On a symbolic level, the sculpture speaks of movement, flow, circulation, fluidity and connection. It is a tribute to drinking water and a metaphor for the eternal cycles of nature. It represents the dynamic balance of the world and natural processes based on constant flow, transformation, and the interconnectedness of all forms of life. The movement of water within the sculpture becomes a metaphor for this interweaving – an uninterrupted flow linking the visible and the invisible, the material and the immaterial, the individual and the whole.

In this way, the water sculpture transcends a purely aesthetic or functional role, establishing itself as a space for contemplation, respect for nature, and a reminder of the responsibility we bear as part of its cycle. The choice of material – stainless steel – is deliberate: its reflective surface incorporates the surroundings and passers-by, continuously transforming the sculpture. At different times of day and under varying weather conditions, its appearance shifts and at moments almost dematerializes – under clear skies it reads differently than beneath clouds; in the western sun it glows in yellow-orange tones, while in the rain it once again takes on a new expression.

 

The new water sculpture has become a distinctive spatial landmark for both residents and visitors to the city. Just as it was originally conceived as a spatial intervention that does not enclose or divide, but softly connects space and people, it now truly functions and lives in this way.

WATER SCULPTURE LJ
LOCATION Ljubljana, Slovenia
ARCHITECT P PLUS arhitekti and m.kocbek architects
PHOTOGRAPHY Ana Skobe