PRESS RELEASE
A challenge for students of architecture and design
“You design an original urban installation that serves a public purpose. We will build it.”
Slovenia, Ljubljana, 15 October 2010 – Today marks the opening of the third international
competition, Trimo Urban Crash, intended for students of architecture and design from all
over the world. The competition will last until 31 January 2011 and challenge students to
prepare a solution for an original urban installation. The winning project will be built by
Trimo in residential district of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The winner will also receive
a scholarship for the prestigious London School of Architecture, and all finalists will be able
to participate in the architectural workshop in Slovenia.
In the previous competition in 2008/2009 Trimo received almost 150 applications for projects
from 17 countries. A project for a cultural stage, with characteristics of an urban sculpture,
designed by Polish students, won the last competition.
“You design an original urban installation that serves a public purpose. We will build it,” flashes
before you when you enter the link “Trimo Urban Crash”. Miloš Ebner, Trimo’s Chief Innovation
Officer, explains: “Trimo Urban Crash presents a rare opportunity for students of architecture and
design to not only experience the process of virtual creation of an idea, but also to cooperate in the
implementation and construction of their winning creation at an actual location. This way they can
observe the interaction between their idea and the surroundings in reality.” Students can actually
test all elements of complete architectural creation in practice, not only its first, “virtual” part.
According to many participants in the competition: “The experience of actively cooperating in
creating their own architectural work and watching it come to life, on-site, and interacting with real
users, is a once-in a lifetime experience and something every artist wants, Miloš Ebner comments:
“This is what Trimo wants to provide for young architects and designers,” and adds that “The
students entering the competition come up with fresh, new ideas and concepts for Trimo that are
not merely architecturally and technically correct but also innovative - in the focussed, professional,
and wider social field. ”
The last Trimo Urban Crash competition - with 147 participants from 17 countries - has already
proven that students want and expect this type of concept. Students from Bangladesh, Japan,
Singapore, and the United States of America also applied, together with many European students.
The authors of last year’s winning project, “White dancer”, Jan Ledwoń and Alicja Choła from
Poland, said: “Students of architecture often participate in different competitions, but the idea of an
individual project designed by a student and then fully implemented, like Trimo's competition, is
something new. Creating an idea, developing it, and seeing the final result, was a big challenge for
us. We were happy to see our project finished, and we hope it serves the people living in Metelkovo
mesto, Ljubljana, well. ”
This year’s theme for the best building competition is “the tribune of life”, in the Fužine district, the
expressive multicultural residential part of Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital. “The building has to connect
various topics such as benches for sports and cultural events, a meeting point for different
generations, a place where different cultures come together, and an answer to the problem of
modern dormitory suburbs in Europe, through its form and intent,” said Miloš Ebner. “As in the past
the Trimo Urban Crash competition “crashes” the most intriguing, interesting, different areas in town
– the last time it was in Metelkovo mesto, this year it is the Fužine district, and next year – who
knows, maybe somewhere near you?” concludes Miloš.
The winning project will be chosen through a two round evaluation by an international jury, followed
by the final vote, when the public will be present; until the end of April 2011, and built in the Fužine
district until autumn 2011. At the official opening of the building finalists will meet members of the
jury and be able to participate in architectural workshops in Ljubljana.
International competitions such as Trimo Urban Crash offer students and universities an excellent
communication channel for efficiently establishing contacts, an opportunity for knowledge exchange,
and comparison of different architectural approaches. Trimo Urban Crash is a competition that
encourages creative re-modelling of an urban environment with progressive construction materials
and technologies produced by Trimo, as an established European producer. The experience of
creating a solution for a potentially realisable project is also very important. Trimo strives to expand
connections and cooperation with academia, to ensure diverse content for the syllabuses at
Faculties of Architecture, and to encourage constructive cooperation between theory, practice, and
economics, in different areas.
Considering the strong tradition of Trimo’s research development department and the focus on a
professional approach, Trimo Urban Crash is one of many innovative projects.
For further information on the competition visit the website www.trimo-urbancrash.com.
For detailed information please contract the PR Manager of Trimo Group Jana Lutovac Lah, MA:
jana.lah@trimo.si , +386 (0)7 34 60 192. Exchange my data, marked by yellow, with yours – if you work in a
commercial, marketing sector, do not mention it in a conversation, writting with journalists.
Homeland of the competition Trimo Urban Crash
Slovenia, a member of the EU, spreads across an area of 20,273 km², with a population of 2,021,435, which contributes to
the land’s variety and diversity and makes it truly unique. Many describe it: “In Slovenia you can pick autumn fruit in the
morning, enjoy listening to the waves of the Adriatic sea in the afternoon, and take on the ski slopes in the same evening.”
Slovenia is blessed with many characteristics – from the oldest vine in the world, which is over 400 years old but still
provides 25 litres of wine every year – to the dining room of the coalmine located 160 metres below sea-level, making it
the only dining room in Europe located at this depth. It is approximately 15 m wide, and fits 12 tables for a total of 48
people.
The Slovenian people are famous for being hospitable, honest, hard-working people, who love extreme sports and
achievements. Here we have to point out their achievements in the alpine and climbing expeditions in the Himalaya. This
year they qualified for the World Cup for the second time, in which they played against England, Algeria, and the United
States of America.
The Planica Ski Jump is also well-known for serving over 60 world records in the history of ski jumping. It was also the
first where contestants were able to “break” the 100, and later 200 metre barriers, and the current record of 239 metres
was also achieved at Planica.
This extreme sport tendency is not for the slopes, but also reaches the world's largest rapids. The Slovenian ultramarathon swimmer, Martin Strel, was the first to swim the rivers Amazon, Mississippi, and Yangtze River.
Have you visited the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, yet? Many of its landmarks were designed by the acclaimed architect,
Jože Plečnik, who gained worldwide recognition with his architectural masterpieces built in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana –
The Triple Bridge (Tromostovje), the market (Tržnica), Congress square (Kongresni trg), the National and University
Library, and Tivoli Park.
Slovenia is also proud of the internationally recognised Trieste-based writer, Boris Pahor, who also received a Nobel
prize nomination for his literary work.
Slovenian people are known for their accomplishments in design and architecture. The Slovenian companies - Alpina,
Glesia, Elan, Gorenje, Kolpa, Kovinoplastika Lož, Petrič, Trimo, Versor - have already received one of the most
prestigious design awards - the Red Dot Award. Trimo received the Red Dot Product Design Award, 2010, for ArtMe.
Trimo Urban Crash (TUC) is an international competition intended for students of architecture and design from all over
the world. The company, Trimo, which operates in over 50 countries around the world, is organising the third biennial
competition. Trimo will implement and build the winning project in an actual location.