Lauba - It All Begins with a Game
Lauba is a gallery and a place for experiencing, learning, entertainment and social interaction, a place which focuses on contemporary art and much more than just art - Lauba is people's and art house as well as protected cultural monument.
Image credit: Lauba.hr
It all begins with a game
Lauba stands for a circular venue and its origin is in the German word laub, which means leaves. A circular venue with treetops which are barely touching was a place for games as well as for competitions. To climb its trees and conquer the entire Lauba without touching the ground was the sacred mission. When it was achieved, there was a new impossible challenge – to make a complete round with as few cuts as possible in the shortest period of time. Lauba is a synonym for initiation through a game.
From horse riding arena to gallery space
Lauba was built in 1910 and at first, it served as a horse riding arena as a part of the military complex of the Austro-Hungarian army. Later, it was transformed into the Zagreb Textile Mill so the riding arena became weaving mill which operated until 2008. The story of the building as it is today begins after the architecture competition conducted in March 2007. The winning project by Alenka Gačić-Pojatina, Branka Petković, and Ana Krstulović best devised the key aspect of the competition: harmonious coexistence of Filip Trade office spaces and the exhibition space for the activities of Lauba association. The authors summed up the spatial concept and characteristics of the project in five main points: spatiality (negative), materiality (positive), flexibility, interaction, and space as inspiration.
Image credit: Lauba.hr
Unique and multifunctional
Thus, unique and multifunctional space was created. Considering that this is a protected cultural monument, it was adapted in a way that it preserved its historical characteristics. There are a coffee bar and bistro at the entrance area that functions as a common meeting place. Combining various forms of businesses, different lifestyles and working rhythms, it is active all day long. The largest and central part of Lauba is reserved for the gallery space that is, besides exhibitions, used for movie screenings, concerts and parties and can be rented for all kinds of activities – from corporate events to weddings. Above gallery, there are office spaces and home of Yammat FM – new but very popular radio.
Image credit: Lauba.hr
Filip Trade collection – the best of Croatian contemporary art
Filip Trade collection is one of the biggest contemporary art collections in Croatia and a framework of Lauba's activities. The collection includes works by the young and middle-aged generation of Croatian artists, and Lauba presents a stage for their display. Some of the names are Lovro Artuković, Ivan Fiolić, Kristian Kožul, and Zlatan Vehabović. Established as a current and lively place, Lauba closely monitors the work of about thirty Croatian artists and several international artists. The uniqueness of Lauba's approach lies in visiting artists studios on the regular basis and participating in the entire process of the production of works. In these moments, there is a critique support but also technical and financial help in the creation of works. Thus, Lauba profiled in the only place in the city that not only does the bidding but it also explores the best of the contemporary art today and represents only the best ones.
Header image credit: Lauba.hr
Author: Andela Ivcevic