Lookout at the "Ivanščica" mountain

Long mountaineering tradition in Ivanec has always been a driving force behind the town’s cultural development, and fearless climbers have built shelters and lookouts on their mountain even in the times of great financial crisis. ‘Stričevo’ lookout is the oldest and most beautiful lookout on the mountain of Ivanščica, providing a view of Ivanec and the river Bednja valley. Time and rough climate have done their harm and there came the need to rebuild the lookout in the spirit of modern architecture and in accordance with contemporary needs of its visitors that are growing by the numbers.

Conceptually simple on the surface level but complex in the details, the project is based upon the integration of the most prominent formal characteristics of the historical building into a minimalist annex. A hexagonal shape of the existing lookout is superimposed on several planes of a simple rectangular form while the space around it is formed in contrasting materials and tectonic composition, as opposed to a clearly stereotomic design of the existing stone base. In this manner, the existing lookout gives room to the modern version, leaving but a trace of its presence on the bounding planes, while the annex equally respects its predecessor by forming a negative space in its former position.