Small interventions
In solidarity with Lumbardhi Foundation
Location: Prizren, Kosovo
Year: 2017
Process photos by Aslıhan Demirtaş, Ali Cindoruk & Likana Cana
Lumbardhi: What It Means To Evolve
Katılım Temelli Bir Yeniden İşlevlendirme
Lumbardhi Sineması’nı “yavaş mimarlık”la korumak
Our collaboration with Lumbardhi Foundation started in 2016 (then an initiative). The Socialist Yugoslav era cinema had just been saved from privatization–if tenuously, thanks to a civil society resistance. Since its inception the foundation not only acted in the socio-political realm but also successfully instrumentalized spatial practices and interventions in its programme through a collaboration with our office. The first step of this instrumentalization was to make small interventions in order to make the space usable for public programming and reveal the potentials. Following our first interventions rendering the space usable, “the former cinema became a lively arts and community center in Prizren with over 700 events produced by the organization and more than 150 other users, while establishing itself as one the most frequented cultural heritage sites in Kosovo, with over 100,000 visitors.”
Our proposal was a series of transformations done in the Main Cinema Hall, the Foyer and the Reading Room converting existing spaces into flexible spaces fit for public programming and quiet working. Non-structural, non-mechanical low budget interventions were designed and implemented. Interventions were of subtractive, repairing and revealing nature and included lighting design and implementation, uncovering and revealing of the existing wood-flooring, repair of the projection screen, general repairs, painting and relocations of some spaces.
As a result of this process which interweaved the programming and the spatial design, the adaptive reuse project KHORA Office produced for Lumbardhi Foundation received full support by the EU.
KHORA Office (Aslıhan Demirtaş & Ali Cindoruk)
Design team: Aslıhan Demirtaş, Ali Cindoruk, Seçkin Maden, Ayçıl Yılmaz