Workinprogress #17

Nekega sončnega poletnega dne naju je sprehod spet zanesel mimo tiste hiše sredi smrek, ki sva jo opazovala že prejšnjikrat. Nekoč mogočna in ponosna vila sredi ljubljanskih Most, danes obledela počiva na svojem mestu, tako samoumevna, da je ljudje sploh ne opazijo. Pod njo hrumijo avtomobili, za njo hitijo vlaki, preko njenega vrta pa se vijejo cevi s sosednje toplarne, kljub temu pa še vedno izžareva dostojanstvo tistega časa, ki se ga spominjajo le še naše babice. Tokrat sva pred njo postala nekoliko dlje – toliko, da sva ujela gospoda, ki je ravno prišel z vrta za hišo. Presenečena naju je zalotil, kako si ogledujeva okolico in nisva imela izbire; pozdravila sva ga in pričela poizvedovati po prebivalcih zaroletanega prvega nadstropja, ki sva ga opazila vsakič, ko sva šla mimo. Na najino veliko veselje sva izvedela, da je glavno stanovanje prazno že vrsto let in nekaj minut kasneje smo se vsi trije sprehajali po njem, le dva pa sva se navduševala nad kopico pohištva pod kupi prahu in pajčevin. Gospod se je čudil nad najinim veseljem, midva pa sva v glavah že kovala načrte za prenovo.

Stanovanje ni bilo privlačno na prvi pogled; odpadajoč omet, dotrajane napeljave, razpadajoč parket, manjko centralnega ogrevanja in večine priključkov. Kljub naštetemu pa sva prepoznala vrsto kvalitet, ki so obljubljale prijetno bivanje; visoki stropovi, veliki svetli prostori, klasična opečna gradnja, zidan štedilnik, iz katerega se vije prijeten vonj po ognju…

Omenjeni gospod sicer ni bil lastnik hiše, je pa v njej vseeno preživel večji del življenja. Po telefonu je poklical lastnika na slovensko obalo in mu povedal, da ga želita dva navdušena študenta arhitekture; dogovorili smo se za prvi sestanek. Nekaj dni kasneje sva v prijetno senco portoroške kavarnice prišla s predlogom: stanovanje prenoviva lastnoročno, po najinih zamislih in načrtih, znesek celotne prenove pa se nama prizna pri najemnini. Ključe sva dobila še isti dan.

On one sunny afternoon, our walk once again brought us to the house hidden between trees, we have been eyeing for some time. Once it was a mighty villa in a quiet part of Moste, now it stands desolate and a bit shabby above the sidewalk and people don’t even notice her when they go by. Even tough it is cornered by a road, railway and has hotwater piping maneuvering over the backyard, she emanates a sort of dignity that is a relic of a time long gone. That afternoon we admired her for some time and whilst lurking around met a man who lived there. We asked him about the first floor apartment that was looking abandoned. He told us it was empty for about 20 years and took us inside to have a look. We were thrilled about the spaciousness and tons of furniture under piles of dust and cobwebs, and have started planning the renovation while the man chuckled at our excitement.
In truth, the flat did not look inviting at first glance; the paint was falling apart, plumbing and electricity wires suspiciously battered and the floor was very damaged in some parts. There was no central heating and all other modern commodities. But it had promising qualities such as high ceilings, big rooms with lots of windows, it was classically built out of brick and had a cooking furnace that was so inviting, that we almost smelled wood burning…
The man was not the owner of the house, but lived there for almost all his life. He called the real owner and we arranged a meeting. A few days later we came to the cool shadow of a bar by the sea with a proposition: we renovate the flat ourselves and compensate the costs with the rent. We got our keys then and there.

Notranje stene sva prebarvala s svetlo sivo barvo, ki zmehča sence in prevzame odtenke elementov ob njej. Star hrastov parket sva zbrusila in ga premazala z lanenim oljem brez sijaja, s tem sva pridobila poudarjeno strukturo lesa in lepo rdečkasto barvo brez leska. Edino v kuhinji je bil tako dotrajan, da prenova ni bila mogoča. Naredila sva nov tlak iz ostankov smrekovih opažnih plošč, ki nastanejo v proizvodnji. Vsa okna sva zbrusila in prebarvala z vodnim lakom v istem odtenku kot stene. Tako je bil osnovni kalup prostorov končan.

We painted all the walls with light gray paint, which softens the shadows and gains different hues during the day. We sanded the old flooring and refreshed it with a few coats of lanced oil with no shine so that the beauty of old wood grain came out. In the kitchen, the flooring was too damaged to make it work. So we made a new one out of pineboard leftovers. We also sanded old paint from all window frames and painted them with the same shade of gray. And the basis of the flat was complete.

Izbira pohištva nama je bila že od vsega začetka jasna. Staro pohištvo se sklada z duhom takšnega prostora, poleg tega pa je narejeno po starih načelih: izdelano je iz masivnega lesa in ne zlepljenih lesnih ostankov, naredili so ga mizarski mojstri in zato njihova oblika ne temelji le na atraktivnih formah, temveč na tradiciji. Poleg tega pa je bil en kos narejen za več generacij, zato je nakup veljal kot dobra naložba.

The choice of furniture was clear to us from the very beginning. Old furniture goes well with the essence of such places and was made to last: built out of solid wood and not glued-up byproducts, designed by craftsmen so the shapes are based on tradition and function, and not attractive forms.

Večino kosov sva našla ali so nama bili podarjeni, midva pa sva jih prenovila in jim določila novo uporabnost. Kot zagovornika DIY pristopa sva nekaj elementov naredila sama: kuhinjski pult iz borovega lesa in drsna vratca iz bukovih ostankov, šivalna miza iz starih macesnovih desk in kovinskim ogrodjem, delovni mizi po starih načrtih Enza Mari-ja ter celotna konstrukcija za spalnico iz cevi in objemk gradbenega odra, prekritih z lesenimi polnili.

We were given some pieces, others we found, renovated and gave them a new purpose. As DIY enthusiasts we also made some elements ourselves: the kitchen tabletop from pine wood, sliding doors from old beech pieces, the sewing table from old larch boards with a metal frame, studio tables from Enzo Mari plans and whole construction for bedroom from scaffolding pieces, covered with wooden plates.

Prvotno tlorisno zasnovo sva večinoma ohranila. Dnevni prostor je bil sprva povezan s spalnico, ki sva jo spremenila v delovno sobo. Tako sva na južni strani s pogledom na vrt dobila povezan prostor, v katerem preživiva večino dneva. Na zahodni steni sta spalnica (prej kabinet) in kuhinja, vsi prostori pa so povezani s široko vežo, kamor sva umestila tudi kotiček za šivanje.

We preserved the original floor plan. The living room was first connected to the bedroom, which we turned into a studio. This way we got one bigger space on southern side of building, where we spend most of our time. On west side there is a bedroom (utility before) and kitchen, all rooms are connected with the hall which is big enough to house our small sewing studio.

Originalni tekst je bil objavljen v reviji Hiše št.69, vse barvne fotografije je posnel Andrej Korenč, za kar se mu lepo zahvaljujeva.

Original text was published in Hiše magazine no.69, all color photographs were shot by Andrej Korenč, for which we are very grateful.