Apart from its four offices in Germany, KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten is also represented abroad.
Thomas Busse is Managing Director of KSP Jürgen Engel International and responsible for activities operations abroad, which focus largely on Asia.
For several years now the architectural office has also been operating successfully in Eastern Europe, including Riga and Ljubljana.
In 2017 Elena Georgieva was responsible as Project Manager for Four Points by Sheraton in Ljubljana, which was followed up by two additional projects in Ljubljana.
NAXNAX Netzwerk Architekturexport: How do you find working and the planning process in Slovenia Ms. Georgieva? How does it differ from planning and building in Germany?
Elena Georgieva: In the last two years we were involved in three projects in Slovenia. That is a fairly fast rate when you consider that we had never worked in the country before and couldn’t fall back on any established structure. We planned according to the German standard. The standards in the two countries are fairly similar, though in Germany they are somewhat stricter in some respects. We recommended to our clients that they plan the project according to German standards, as these have proved their worth in Germany.
NAX: How do you manage the project in organizational and logistical terms? Do you coordinate most of it from Germany or do you have employees on site?
Elena Georgieva: During the peak phase I traveled there once a week. Our local partner office helped us with issues that had to do with the local market. As for us, we were responsible for communication with the operating company, the Marriott Group. They are headquartered in Eschborn near Frankfurt – so it was perfect for us logistically. We already had experience with the Marriott Group as we planned one of the Moxy-Hotels in Frankfurt, among other things. The Hotel Mons project is a prestige project for Slovenia and it is also pioneering, because they have less experience with design hotel chains there. This aspect makes the project exciting because it was motivating for everyone involved to create something new.
Spa area with outdoor view (concept planning)KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten
NAX: How did you land the contract? Did you already have construction experience in Slovenia or is this KSP’s first project on the Slovenian market?
Elena Georgieva: The contact with the client came about at a real-estate fair; he was looking for an established firm of architects in Germany for the hotel project. Our hotel references tipped the balance. The Four Points by Sheraton is our first project in Slovenia and simultaneously a pilot project. It is the first western-standard design hotel by a hotel chain in Slovenia. Moreover, the hotel is an existing building by Boris Podrecca, an internationally acclaimed architect from Vienna. Our extension represents a special architecture that is expected to be trailblazing with regard to future Slovenian architecture.
Elena Georgieva, project manager with KSP Jürgen Engel ArchitektenKSP Jürgen Engel Architekten
NAX: Does this project present you with special challenges? What special aspects had to be taken into account?
Elena Georgieva: Slovenia gained independence roughly 30 years ago and joined the EUEU Europäische Union in 2004. Presently the country is engaged in reinventing its own identity. It is strongly shaped by its natural features. Slovenia is located between mountains and the sea; you only travel about two hours from the Alps to reach the sea and this phenomenon is characteristic for the country. This closeness to nature was very important for the image of the hotel, so we took it up in our overall design and that of the facade. Any country that is still developing cannot rely solely on itself.
It will always need to absorb ideas from outside. And as architects we also see ourselves as providers of ideas.
NAX: Thank you for granting us this insight into the construction process in Slovenia, Miss Georgieva!
