Process of Underground city project development

Phase 1
Proposed recovering of Labin’s identity respective to the rest of Istrian region. Industrial heritage was proposed as an icon and infrastructural resource. It evaluated tourism as an expected source of income and possibility to infuse new sustainable life 12 months a year.

Proposal is for the first time presented at the 2nd International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam in May 2005.

view slideshow (3 slides)

Phase 2
Proposed a form of organizational and architectural strategy that would exploit symbolic heritage and infrastructural legacy of the mine industry for re-establishing local production.

Public agency is at the core of strategy. It is a legal body, which should organize and animate the whole process of development. It is a legal body, which would organize and activate parts of infrastructure of the coalmine and adjacent zones of up-ground influence. Agency is responsible for the installment of different economic models of public-civil-private / non-profit partnerships across the underground network.

Strategy is for the first time presented at the Exhibition and book launch in Zagreb, June 2006.

Organizational and architectural strategy generated by the re-activation of the mining infrastructure was presented to the wide range of stakeholders form a Labin region at the Public debate held in a Labin City Hall in December 2006 that raise the following questions:
Old mine as a tourist attraction? Labin as one of the most important tourist centers in Istria? Mine reconstruction is impossible and expensive? Who finance the mine reconstruction: City of Labin, government or private capital? Restaurant in a tunnel? Casino 50m under the City of Labin? Wine cellars in Rasa? Cultural center in the old miners bath? City library in the old miners bath?

1 - City of Labin (by the City Council decision) should form a working group aimed to prepare a plan and strategy: production of the Tourism master plan of the City of Labin

2 - City, County and governmental budget are insufficient for the implementation of a project of such scale. Therefore, there is a further action needed for engaging the European funds for technical assistance (IPA), as well as private investments.

view slideshow (4 slides)

Phase 3
After learning about dynamics and politics of local coalition government, Platfroma 981 reinstalled different forms of public negotiations. At the beginning it showed that “everybody agree on everything” just as long as real interests are not outspoken. It became evident that Underground city (new types of cultures and new economic models of tourism) is just not visible to most of politicians while urban and financial planning are still the main policy instruments. Therefore, a project team focused on the little step: Architectural brief for competition of the new cultural center in an old miners’ bath, presented in June 2007, before proposing another big step. In the meantime project team undertook the remapping of new partnerships with private companies and regional development strategies as part of the proposal.

view slideshow (5 slides)