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Lučka Ažman Momirski, professor at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Ljubljana, left us far too soon at the age of sixty-three. She was an architect, spatial planner, researcher, educator, mentor, and a friend. Her work, dedication, and personality have left an indelible mark on all who collaborated and worked with her.
Lučka began her journey at the University of Ljubljana as a student and later served as an assistant, associate professor, and mentor, leading a wide array of core and elective courses such as Urban Development, Architecture and Archaeology, Architectural Analogies, Parametric Design and GIS in Architecture, Action Planning, Strategic Planning, and Design 1-5. Her role at the faculty also included mentoring numerous undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral theses, reflecting her profound understanding of architectural and urban processes.
At the peak of her career, she and her colleagues achieved remarkable success in architectural and urban planning competitions. Among her most significant projects are the competition solution for Nove Stanežiče in Ljubljana, Vergerijev Square in Koper, the sports and park settlement in Izola, and the design and expansion of the Port of Koper, for which she received the Maks Fabiani Award in 2015.
Lučka’s innate curiosity drove her to thoroughly investigate everything from origins and development to the challenge of designing new complex themes, from ports to the development of urban strategies that enable cities to transform into more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient communities. Her exceptional insight and ability to recognize patterns in spatial processes allowed her to connect local characteristics with global challenges. Her solutions were always aimed at improving coexistence between people and the environment while reflecting her understanding of future societal needs.
Among many other issues, she was interested in the transformations of coastal cities, researching sustainable strategies for revitalizing urban coastal areas. All her projects were designed with a focus on adapting and making cities resilient to future environmental and social challenges. This was the context in which we met. The transformation of urban and port waterfronts was a topic of common interest that led us to collaborate from 2011 to 2013 on a Grundtvig Lifelong Learning project entitled WaRe-Waterfront Regeneration: Learning from European Best Practices for a Sustainable Urban Life [1] During several project meetings and numerous site inspections and visits to the partner city we were able to build a relationship of professional and personal esteem that has remained over time.
Her scientific and organizational contribution has been fundamental in composing one of the project outputs, the booklet Blue Frontiers. Comparing Urban Waterfront Redevelopment Bratislava – Izola – Pärnu – Venice – Viana do Castelo [2] which was quite successful. Memorable was the welcome she reserved to the working group in the occasion of the mission to Izola, where Lučka had worked for a long time on redevelopment projects and in the occasion of a meeting at the University of Ljubljana. Without forgetting the pleasure of being together on the other missions of the WaRe project.
Finally, we had the opportunity to meet in Venice and Murano when, with her group of students and assistants, she wanted to choose a former glass factory building that belongs to my family as a project area. An experience that allowed us to imagine future and creative uses of a partially abandoned space and that took advantage of the fresh and innovative outlook of the students.
We will miss her expertise and her human warmth.
May the earth be light on you dear Lučka. We will not forget you.
Marta Moretti
Venice, 26 January 2025
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NOTES
[1] https://portusonline.org/ware-the-waterfront-regeneration-project-2/
[2] https://predmet.fa.uni-lj.si/ware/images/stories/Blue_Frontiers_Comparing_Urban_Waterfront_Redevelopment.pdf