Presiding over a newly created plaza, the Chamber of Commerce of Ljubljana rises in the northern area of the city like a built icon of Slovenia’s incipient mercantilism. Conceived as an Exchange fórum through which to stimulate capital growth, it utilizes external differentiation to address both the program and the building’s insertion into the urban fabric. Hence, the flexible Surface of offices is placed behind the curtain wall that characterizes the streetside elevation, whereas the volumes containing the meeting rooms or library compose a facade that opens onto the square like a pile of drawers stacked on top of one other. This play of setbacks is also perceptible from the vertical foyer that connects some floors with others, thus creating meeting spaces for informal contact among visitors, guests and employees of the institution...
[+]