Office: OFIS Architects | ArchDaily

The Avber House / OFIS Architects

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 03:00:00 +0000

Project Overview
On a hilltop overlooking the Karst plateau lies the village of Avber — a tightly clustered settlement shaped by stone, wind, and time. Here, a homestead has been carefully revitalized for an Australian client whose family traces its roots back to this very village. The project reconnects him not only to a place but also to the architectural traditions of his ancestors. What emerges is more than a renovation: it is a cultural return, a home re-established within a fabric marked by the fierce winter burja winds, the weight of stone, and the memory of community life.

Pier-Lighthouse / OFIS Architects

Valeria Silva — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 08:00:00 +0000

'No man is an island, all by himself; every person is a piece of the continent, part of the land; if the sea washes away a lump of land, Europe shrinks like a mountain, like the estate of your friends or your own..', wrote the English metaphysical poet John Donne, and the quote was highlighted by Hemingway in the famous novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. And the same could be said for houses; all are part of the city and each contributes to the integrity of the place. On the island of Cres, construction is limited by considerations of how to deliver the material. Due to the difficult accessibility, all interventions must be pragmatic and deliberate. This also characterized the architecture of the small stone house on the corner of the square. The internal dimensions of the building are only 3 x 3 m, there are two floors and an attic above the ground floor. The structure of the existing house was solid enough before the renovation that the architects completely preserved the perimeter walls.

Old Printery / OFIS Architects

Pilar Caballero — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000

In the 1960s, the Slovenian modernist architect Savin Sever designed the Mladinska knjiga printing house. It was one of the largest and most modern printing houses of its time, the modular, repetitive concrete construction representing its key architectural expression. The visible concrete structure, a poetic architectural element, was a characteristic feature of the post-war modernist period. Edvard Ravnikar, one of Plečnik’s most important pupils, was the key figure during this period in Slovenian architecture. He was also strongly influenced by his collaboration in Le Corbusier’s studio. Ravnikar developed his own architectural poetics, both drawing on tradition and advancing it with a modernist approach that became the mark of Slovenia’s post-war generation of architects. Savin Sever is one of the most prominent representatives of this so-called Ljubljana school of architecture.

Split Level House / OFIS Architects

Pilar Caballero — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Večna pot, which means “eternal way” in the Slovenian language, is the name of one of the longest streets in Ljubljana. It connects two distant districts of the city, most of it running through an ancient forest on the slopes of the hills that now form part of Tivoli Park. According to some historical sources, the road is said to have existed in prehistoric times when the Ljubljana basin was still a lake and the pile dwellings culture flourished on the slopes past which Večna pot now runs. The villa was built on what was once the shore of a lake that dried up in prehistoric times. The area was at risk of flooding until recently when regulation systems were built. The pre-regulation era led to the evolution of a building typology of houses with a raised ground floor. Basements were semi-underground which reduced the danger of flood damage. Access to the ground floor where the main living space was located developed into a unique architectural element: the portico.

Peglezen Building / OFIS Architects

Andreas Luco — Sun, 12 May 2024 06:00:00 +0000

At the beginning of the 1930s architect Jože Plečnik planned the new Ljubljana City Hall. A monumental complex was planned in the wider market area where originally the former catholic seminary stood, which was destroyed in the 1895 earthquake. From all of the ambitious plans, only fragments were implemented: for example the colonnades of Ljubljana markets and the Peglezen building, which was also part of the overall design of the Poljanska street. The investors in the house construction were Matko Prelovšek and his wife Elsa. Matko Prelovšek was the head of the Ljubljana planning office. His great affection for Plečnik’s work helped a lot of realizations which are today called Plečnik’s Ljubljana.

Catwalk House / OFIS Architects

Andreas Luco — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Although as much as 80% of Slovenia is covered by forest, in the last century most family houses were made of concrete and brick. These are materials that are considered to be durable, earthquake-safe, and economical. Houses made of timber have been reawakening only in the last two decades, mainly due to raising awareness of sustainable construction and the well-being of living in a wooden house.

Frame House / OFIS Architects

Andreas Luco — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

The house is located in the suburbs near Ljubljana city center, surrounded mostly by single houses and a busy road. Clients asked for a 3-bedroom house not exceeding 200m2 and would contain a large living and guest bedroom/study. They also asked for a carport, bike, and garden storage next to the entry. Since there was an existing old garden on the plot, the house is located in a way that would keep most of the existing lawn and trees but also have a paved area by the entrance where kids could play or roller-skate.

Mansion Kanalski Lom / OFIS Architects

Andreas Luco — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 03:00:00 +0000

A family that unites the extremes of the global world: a Russian/American couple, she with a career in Moscow, he in New York, and their - not two or three, but - eight children. In search of neutral terrain, in which they would make a safe nest for venturing out into the world, they arrived in remote and almost forgotten places above the valleys of the Soča, Idrijca, and Čepovans dol. The Banj plateau, a dry karst landscape of pastures on the border between the Mediterranean and the Alpine world, characterized by the typical stone folk architecture of sparse features and slate roofs, convinced them, and they bought an old homestead in Kanalski Lom, hoping to live there and build a new home.

Ring House / OFIS Architects

Paula Pintos — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In one of the areas of former Ljubljana suburbs, where bourgeois houses were built during the interwar period, stands an unusual hybrid. The original house with its cubic volume, typical of the early modernism of the 1930s, with semicircle fringes and scanty details stretches towards the garden with its modern addition - a light floating pavilion. The pavilion uses the original volumes' curvatures as a formal starting point, but we can tell by its expression the unmistakable continuity of works from Ljubljana architectural studio Ofis. When clients and architects met for the first time the house was far from its former glory.

Hotel Bohinj Revitalised / OFIS Architects

Alexandria Bramley — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 03:00:00 +0000

Hotel Bohinj, the former Hotel Kompas was built spontaneously over the last three decades, without thinking about its final appearance. It is raised on a plateau, which gives it a special intimacy, with views of Lake Bohinj, the mountains and the church of Janez Krstnik. The new owners of the hotel decided for radical overhaul including structural reinforcement, interior refurbishment and sustainable renovation.

3SHOEBOX House / OFIS Architects

Rayen Sagredo — Sun, 06 Dec 2020 17:00:00 +0000

The Villa is located in Trnovo within the city center of Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is renovation of a small existing house dating from 1934. Old house was designed by architect Emil Navinsek, known for inovation space concepts of a school non-corridor plan. He designed the house next to his residence for his two unmarried eldery sisters who lived together in a small surface of only 50m2 per floor. The street where the house is situated was mostly built in the 60s and 70s with typical one family residential houses made in combination of white plaster render and dark wood cladding.

Conservatory for Music & Ballet / OFIS Architects

Valeria Silva — Wed, 20 May 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Ljubljana's Conservatory of Music and Ballet is one of the oldest music schools in Slovenia, dating back to 1919. Located in the immediate proximity of many historical buildings and other important monuments, the overall renovation aimed to improve the existing program and some technical features of the school's facilities, while preserving the original volume and structure.

Step Level House / OFIS Architects

María Francisca González — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 07:00:00 +0000

The house is located in a residential area in the border between the city center and suburban district. There is a difference in height of 2.5m between the level of the street and the further part of the lot. Following its topography, the volume of the house is divided into steps from the street to the garden level. This allows creating terraces with plants in every floor, overlooking the trees in the backyard garden.

House Portico / OFIS Architects

Pilar Caballero — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 03:00:00 +0000

The house is located in Rozna Dolina district, within the city center of Ljubljana. The area was largely undeveloped until after the 1895 Ljubljana earthquake when developers started looking for cheap land near industry to build housing for workers. The low-lying meadows in what is now Rozna Dolina were purchased in the 1890s by the Slovene Workers Building Association. Today, it is a popular area next to the green part of the city, Tivoli Park, ZOO and Roznik hill, a popular citizen’s destination.

Platform Tower / OFIS Architects

Daniel Tapia — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 22:00:00 +0000

The building is located in the business center of Ljubljana. It creates a gate together with the existing tower from the 1960s in the northern entrance to the city. The volume was pre-determined by strict urban rules and competition from 2007. The maximum height limit is at 82m.

Glass Pavilion / OFIS arhitekti

Rayen Sagredo — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 01:00:00 +0000

RESEARCH
The Glass Pavilion is a research prototype for a comfortable if elementary retreat in a tense juxtaposition with harsh surrounding environment. The project, initiated by Guardian Glass is challenging thermal and structural abilities of glass. Instead of focusing only in “a glass as a window element” the concept explored its advanced potentials, e.g. transparent but shading element, a thin but thermally efficient envelope that is also the sole structural support.

Living Unit / OFIS Architects

Cristobal Rojas — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 03:00:00 +0000

The research for the Cabin was initiated by OFIS, C+C, C28 and AKT along with contractor Permiz to develop Self-contained wooden shell, which can be flexible and adaptable on different locations, climate conditions and terrains.

Winter Cabin on Mount Kanin / OFIS arhitekti

Daniela Cardenas — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 02:00:00 +0000

The challenge is to install real objects, shelters in 1:1 on remote sites and study their response to extreme weather, radical temperature shifts, snow and rugged terrain. The harsh conditions of wind, snow, landslides, terrain, and weather require a response of specific architectural forms, structures and concept.