RECHARGE Diary

Another day, another RECHARGE NEXT introduction: today it's time to talk about the Museum of Architecture and Design from Slovenia, and its project on heritage, architecture and community engagement

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Name of the institution: Museum of Architecture and Design

Based in: Rusjanov trg 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Mission: The Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) is a national Slovene museum that acts in the fields of architecture, urbanism, industrial and graphic design and photography. The museum collects, stores, studies and presents material from these creative areas and acts as a platform for creative sector. The museum organises one of the oldest international design events - Biennial of Design, and runs Centre for Creativity - a platform for the development of cultural and creative sectors. MAO is a dynamic institution that operates as a museum as well as a creative hub for architecture and design. Its goal is to expand the knowledge about architecture, landscape architecture, urbanism, industrial and graphic design and to provide the platform for exchanging ideas and the dialog within these fields and their end users on national and international level. MAO operates as a space intended for everyone who wishes to research, study, and learn more about how we inhabit our living space, how we organize it, change it, design it, mark it, and make it our own.

Business model idea: Our vision is to establish MAO as a connecting centre of the community, a place for knowledge exchange and co-creation, and an environment where everyone is welcome, where one can think openly, ask questions, test ideas, experiment and debate. The innovative model of our project will show how, with the cooperation of organisations and individuals, museums can expand their programs, better fulfil their public role, better face social challenges and make public goods more accessible. In 2023 we launched the first edition of the Museum in the Community. We used a participatory co-creation model for co-ideation and co-creation of three real environment space installations that were also core exhibits of the community exhibition in MAO park. In 2024 we are planning to continue with the Museum in the Community II. We will build on the knowledge, potential, partnerships and connections that were identified and established within the first edition. The aim is to test the potential that public organisations have in creating conditions for people's wellbeing, enabling access to public goods, involving vulnerable groups and intergenerational collaboration in overcoming societal challenges. With the exhibition, the production of new set of real environment space installations and events, we aim to show how with joint strengths, interdisciplinary cooperation, integration of knowledge in the community, exchange of experiences, reciprocal involvement of the public and cooperation with organisations in the neighbourhood, we can generate positive societal changes.

“Architecture and design, as reflected in everyday life, are entry points for connecting with the community.”