Hostel Celica

In 1997, as part of the European Month of Culture, I designed a cell which was realised at that time and which, with some minor changes, is now available to guests.

Beyond the difficult prison history of this cell, my work on it also took account of the memory of a group of artists and makers (Sestava): it was in this very cell, in the autumn and winter of 1994 and again in 1995, that we developed all the essential conceptual groundwork for the kind of hotel — museum, gallery — that exists there now. When it was cold we met in this cell for a simple reason: Boštjan Novak and I had found a chimney connection here, so we could heat it.

The masonry hearth I built in the same place where an iron stove had previously stood remained in use through the winter right up until the renovation; regulations now prohibit its use on fire-safety grounds. But alongside its practical and commemorative function it of course also has a symbolic role, bound to the symbolic role of the whole design of the cell.