Jože Plečnik

He lived a long life, most of which he dedicated to his beloved profession, and died on 7 January 1957, at the age of 84, in Ljubljana.

Joze Plecnik was born on 23 January 1872, in Ljubljana, as the fourth child of carpenter Andrej Plečnik and his wife Helena.

After attending elementary school in Ljubljana he started working in his father’s workshop and also attended trade school. He later on studied drawing under Leopold Theyer and was employed to draw furniture for the J. W. Müller company in Vienna.

As a young man he studied under the legendary Viennese architect and educator Otto Wagner from 1894 to 1897, and also worked with him for some time.

At the beginning of his career he lived and worked primarily in Vienna where he undertook famous projects like the Langer House (1900) and the Zacherlhaus (1903–1905).

From early on, his works were marked with elements of Secession although they were designed in a modern style. He was also a very creative and innovative individual who developed a unique style of his own as he gained experience.

In 1910, he started working on the ‘Church of the Holy Spirit’; this project would ultimately be completed in 1913. The church’s crypt with its slender concrete columns and angular, cubist capitals and bases attracted a lot of attention for its unconventional design.

Along with his career as an architect he also embarked on a career as an educator. He moved to Prague in 1911 in order to take up a teaching position at the Arts and Crafts college.

He proved to be a very able teacher and inspired several young and aspiring artists and architects to develop their skills. He emphasized on both classical principles of architecture as well as folk art traditions.

He gave the city of Ljubljana its modern identity by designing many of its iconic buildings. These include: Slovene National and University Library building, Vzajemna Insurance Company Offices, Ljubljana open market buildings, Ljubljanica River banks, parks, plazas etc.