Hotel Creina

Hotel Creina
Architect: Edvard Ravnikar
Address: Koroška cesta 5, Kranj, Slovenia
Project:1968
Completion:1970


The hotel is a place for a short stay, and the people in it are like migratory birds, which is why Ravnikar built birdhouses for them in the most beautiful spots in the treetops. It is an excellent location from which one can quickly and effectively get to know the city. At the same time, it is an unmistakable structure that can be seen from a distance of one kilometer upon exiting the train. For distant views, the architect works with sculptural view concrete, while for close-up views, Ravnikar works with the texture of bricks.
After the municipal office and the adjacent bank building, Ravnikar designed a hotel in Kranj, which he placed above a rocky cliff, defining the western face of the new Revolution Square. The hotel building recedes from the Koroška street heading to Jesenice, pushing as close as possible to the rock overhang while revealing the historical building of the gymnasium to the square. Thus, a square was created in front of the hotel, which is now used for parking hotel guests.
The building itself consists of a reinforced concrete frame structure filled with masonry. Most of the hotel operations (ground-floor promenade, restaurant terrace, and hotel room balconies) are oriented westward into the valley, offering the most interesting views. While the facade of the hotel maintains a compact appearance towards the square, from the valley side, the mass seems as if it wants to burst forth. Ravnikar himself compared his concrete protrusions at the edges of the attic to “feathery bird decorations.” The richly articulated shape above the southwestern slope Ravnikar likened to a “castle standing in harmony with the surrounding nature.”
The hotel offered a classic range of services from an indoor pool, sauna, café, and restaurant to a disco. The faded glory is not saved by the current tenants, who offer clothing and slot machines in the ground-floor spaces. The hotel has also undergone several stages of extensions, which like swallow nests, have been attached to Ravnikar's structurally daring building, each renovation diminishing its strength.
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