Text description provided by the architects. Let the kindergarten become a place where an architect’s play with space blends with a child’s play. We are presenting the newly built kindergarten in Ribnica which is the biggest kindergarten in Slovenia. The new kindergarten designed by Bojan Mrežar, Renato Rajnar and Peter Rijavec has twentyfour playrooms and measures 4,500 m2. 400 children is playing and learning in it.
The conviction of the authors, when contemplating a kindergarten’s position in the modern world, is that a safe, warm place is a precondition for successful development of a child. This place should enable the child to get acquainted with the world and society in peaceful and relaxed manner. Therefore, rooms of the kindergarten were designed to embrace the playground in the middle, imitating hands embracing the child and forming a safe, warm place and environment.
© Jorg CeglarRooms, intended for children of early ages, almost fully embrace the child, while a hug of the rooms, guarding children of later ages, is less closed and points to the child’s leaving for a big, wide world when the time comes. Therefore, authors earnestly hope that the feeling of safety and warmth, given to the children in the kindergarten, will accompany them throughout life.
© Jorg CeglarDesign layout of the administrative-commercial building
Building is designed as a simple cube acting as a contrast to noticeably varied children’s building. Correct geometric body functions as a hard, serious basis/starting point around which wings of children’s building playfully twist.
© Jorg CeglarDesign layout of children’s building
Children’s building has been designed to contrast with the administrative-commercial building. Rooms for children are designed in a much playful, crumbling, and attentive manner. Therefore, they follow each other, under different angles, and forming together two big bays or pockets that surround and form a quality playground environment in the middle.
© Jorg CeglarCeiling lowers in cloakrooms and toilets
whereas rises in playrooms to open the space
we have placed a folding platform giving additional appeal to the room
At breaking points of the wings the corridor widens considerably
A part of central rooms’ floor descends terrace-like and creates a theatre environment
The long side of the façade opens central area into the park
Both the interior and exterior is designed with variety of shapes
It creates a very rich environment to provide the child with diversity of experience
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After getting off the main road that leads to Divčibare from the Mionica village of Brežđe
The road winds through vast green meadows and forests
That is how you get to the Ribnica river gorge
but can cause massive problems when it overflows due to heavy rains
This poses a threat to areas nearby as well as those in the Kolubara District because Ribnica flows into the Kolubara River
and its silence is “broken” only by the sounds of birds and insects from the uncut grass
Children who live within 30 meters of the river swim in it
is nicknamed after it – everyone calls him River Bane
Both my grandfather and father (…) There used to be a mill here
but my great-grandfather moved here in the early thirties,” says Branko as he shows us around his little paradise – a home that is almost a hundred years old
how much longer he will be able to stay there
it was said that the state would build a dam on Ribnica and submerge part of the gorge
water would accumulate in the artificial lake and not flood the surrounding areas
Branko heard nothing about these plans for years
then a man from the Municipality came and said that they were surveying for the dam
They were also called in to the Municipality to see the plan of what will be submerged
He says that he is startled by them every time
but he tries not to think about the construction of the dam and his potential eviction
What Branko doesn’t know is that a fierce battle has already taken place regarding the dam
geographer Sava Simić was working at the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia when a project for the construction of a dam on Ribnica and the creation of an artificial lake appeared on his desk
He had to decide whether to approve the so-called Detailed Regulation Plan which determines how the dam and lake will be built
A rejection would mean that a dam could not be built there
but there are many protected animal species at the site of the Ribnica gorge
grey wagtails and white wagtails are on the hunt
a large species of owl that also inhabits gorges
All these animals are protected to prevent their extinction
Simić wanted to consult other experts from the Institute
he made a decision – he was not in favor of the dam being built in that location
He believed that it would have a “multitude of negative consequences for the overall natural values of the gorge (valley) of the Ribnica river”
Documents obtained by CINS clearly show that he was forced to do so
The Municipality of Mionica appealed against Simić’s decision
stating that the Institute had already approved a Spatial Plan in 2006
foresaw the construction of the artificial lake
Head of the Geodiversity Department at the time and Simić’s superior
he believed that the correct decision had been made
Ten years had passed from 2006 until the moment when he made his decision
a part of the gorge became part of a network of environmentally significant areas
The deadline for responding to the appeal was expiring
Mijović urged Simić to change his decision within two days
Although the construction of the dam and the lake was unacceptable to him
Simić decided to clear the way for the dam to be built
in which he describes the pressure he was placed under
it is clear that the opinion of experts was ignored in this case:
“It seems that not a single argument that led to this turnaround was related to nature conservation
the professional work and reasoning of the Institute‘s associates.”
one of Simić’s colleagues with whom he consulted
now an assistant professor at the University of Kragujevac
tells CINS that in this case their profession lost
He explains that even during the ice age various types of plants and animals managed to survive in the Ribnica gorge due to its specific conditions
it is seen as a nursery for endangered species and considered essential for conservation:
“If we stick to the law and basic biological principles
“You put in the work and you wonder what the point was and you ask yourself ‘what did I go to school for’.”
Sava Simić did not respond to the email we sent him
while his former colleagues did not wish to give us his phone number
We tried to reach Dušan Mijović through people from the Institute for Nature Conservation
as well as his associates from the Đerdap National Park
but none of them wanted to give us his number
The Institute for Nature Conservation says that the decision was made in accordance with the law
they did not want to comment on Mijović’s insistence that Simić change his decision
given that neither of them is employed by that institution any longer
the construction of the dam in the Ribnica gorge seems certain
A document is currently being prepared that should show whether the project will cause irreparable damage to the environment
the so-called Environmental Impact Assessment
The Municipality of Mionica responded to CINS by stating that whether the dam will be built depends on this study and the Feasibility Study
The Municipality also stated that the construction of the dam was foreseen earlier
and that in recent years floods have caused millions in damages in the municipality
Urban planner Ksenija Radovanović tells CINS that at this stage there is little chance of stopping the project
“If it is proven that the environment cannot be protected if the dam is built
in theory the project could be stopped.”
The Institute and the Municipality could find a compromise
says former assistant director of the Institute for Nature Conservation Goran Sekulić
“I think that the decision would have to be reconsidered
regardless of the appeal being accepted and the Institute’s hand being forced
it is difficult to make decisions like that
a situation from 10 years ago is not relevant anymore.”
the construction of the dam and the artificial lake could start soon
part of the gorge and its nature will be submerged
Part of the land they own will be under water
still does not believe that this will happen
he is happy there and he wants to stay there for the rest of his life
He says that moving away would completely alter his life
“And the money that I would get one day
I know that they would gain a lot and for me it would not be enough
when something is not for sale – then it has no price.”
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Anton Majnik and Ferdo Kravanja fought an Italian patrol
which is considered to be the first battle with the occupying forces in World War II on Slovenian soil
The head of the unit Danilo Zelen was killed in battle
Ferdo Kravanja was wounded and captured but later escaped
and Anton Majnik managed to escape during the fighting
The keynote speaker at the state celebration marking the Day of Uprising Against Occupation was President of the National Council Alojz Kovšca
three members of the illegal organisation TIGR risked their lives in the name of freedom as the first fighters against Fascism and Nazism in what was a highly charged Europe at the time
they played an invaluable role and their contribution to freedom remained a secret for a number of years
as did the historical importance of the TIGR fighters
The President of the National Council said that the aspirations and efforts of the TIGR fighters can nowadays be connected to the Slovenian people’s calls for freedom and self-determination
stressing that "every nation has the elementary right to exist and express its national identity"
He said that as a small nation Slovenians must be aware that the fight for freedom goes on every moment all over the world and can become unpredictable tomorrow
He also said: "There is nothing wrong with Slovenians being divided in our worldviews
religions and life styles if only we are united in one thing: that the Slovenian nation is free and sovereign at its hearths."
cooperation and integration that shine a brighter light on us
which is why we should look for them in our daily squabbles and quarrels
Our ancestors knew how to find light in the crucial dark and stormy moments
Let the Day of Uprising Against Occupation be a holiday of Slovenian stubbornness
if not for anything else than for our brave ancestors."
Participants in the cultural programme were Mojca Krajnc
The Slovenian Guards Unit and the Brass Quintet of the Police Orchestra participated in the protocol ceremony
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