106 arhitektov bilten • architect's bulletin • 224 • 225 • 226 • 227 Arhitektura. Skulptura. Spomin. / Architecture. Sculpture. Remembrance. 06_ GRADEC / GRAZ, 1961 Boris Kobe AUT Spomenik mednarodnim žrtvam nacizma • Centralno pokopališče, Gradec, Avstrija • Arhitekt: Boris Kobe • Statik: Svetko Lapajne • Material: kamen, kovina • Vir arhivskega gradiva: Muzej za arhitekturo in oblikovanje – MAO • Fotografije: Miran Kambič • Besedilo: Jurij Kobe Monument to international victims of Nazism • Central cemetery, Graz, Austria • Architect: Boris Kobe • Static: Svetko Lapajne • Material: stone, metal • Material source: Museum of Architecture and Design – MAO • Photographs: Miran Kambič • Text: Jurij Kobe 107arhitektov bilten • architect's bulletin • 224 • 225 • 226 • 227 razstava / exhibition V avstrijskem Gradcu je bil arhitekt postavljen pred nehvaležno nalogo: v ožje območje mestnega pokopališča, ki z vso raznolikostjo intimnih obeležij in njihovih zgodb zelo težko sprejme večji ambient s posvečenim vzdušjem drugačne, obče pietete, umestiti spomenik mednarodnega pomena. Zato je prostor spomenika opredelil z nekoliko vzdignjeno ploščadjo, na kateri stoji osnovno znamenje – gra- nitni lok, ki simbolično povezuje žrtve različnih narodov. Na njegovo spodnjo po- vršino so vklesana njihova imena. Zgornjo površino loka oblikujejo stopnice, ki vodijo do velike brončene žare na njegovem temenu. Širši prostor nagovarja še drugi element spomeniške kompozicije – obelisk z večjezičnimi napisi o namenu spomenika. Sugestivno moč zasnove poudarjajo njena velikost oziroma dimenzije njenih preprostih elementov in material – pohorski tonalit, rezan v velikih plo- ščah. Kot zaslon, ki naj spomenik loči od tematsko drugačnega ozadja individual- nih grobišč in njihovega drobnejšega merila, je arhitekt zasadil izredno gosto po- stavljene stebraste topole. Ti imajo tudi pomembno vlogo v kompoziciji celote: s svojo rahlostjo ustvarjajo aktivni kontrapunkt monumentalni vlogi kamnitih delov spomenika, saj so z barvitim spremljanjem letnega življenjskega cikla svetlejši, bo- drejši sospev k trpkemu nagovoru temnega kamna. Spomenik je zanimiv tudi po tehnični plati: izredno tenak in eleganten lok velikega razpona sestavljajo le preci- zno rezani segmenti granita, ki jih v njihovem položaju varujeta skozi dve paralel- no potekajoči vzdolžni izvrtini nameščena snopa jeklenih vezi v minimalnem be- tonskem ovoju. Spominjam se obiska kamnoloma tonalita v Oplotnici, kamor me je oče še kot šolarja vzel s seboj na sestanek. Iz šablon, izrezanih iz jeklene pločevi- ne (takrat še ni bilo sodobnih CNC-strojev!), je bila na tleh ogromne hale sestavlje- na cela polovica velikega loka v naravni velikosti! In Graz, Austria, the architect was faced with a challenging fact: placing a monu- ment of international significance in the heart of the city cemetery, whose diver- sity of intimate memorials and their stories makes it difficult to accommodate a larger ambient with the solemn atmosphere of a different, communal reverence. Consequently, he defined the space of the monument with a slightly raised plat- form supporting the central device - a granite arch symbolically connecting the victims belonging to the different nations. Their names are engraved on the arch’s bottom surface while the upper surface is formed by steps leading to a large bronzed urn on its crown. There is a secondary element of the monument’s composition engaging the wider space - the obelisk with inscriptions about the purpose of the monument in multiple languages. The suggestive power of the design is emphasised by its size in the sense of the dimension of its simple ele- ments, as well as the material: Pohorje tonalite cut in large dimensions. To serve as a screen separating the monument from the thematically disparate back- ground of individual graves and their small scale, the architect planted columnar poplars very close together. With their ethereal character, they play an impor- tant role in the composition as a whole, representing an active counterpoint to the monumental role of the monument’s stone elements. Their colourful accom- paniment to the annual circle of life acts as a lighter and sprightlier complement to the more embittered engagement of the dark stone. The monument is also technically interesting: the markedly thin and elegant long-span arch is com- posed only of precise-cut segments of granite with two bundles of steel ties in minimal concrete wrapping passed through two parallel longitudinal bores se- curing them in their positions. I remember a visit to the tonalite quarry in Oplot- nica as a school boy when my father took me with him to a business meeting. On the floor of a giant hall, an entire half of the great arch was assembled out of dies cut from steel sheets (this was before contemporary CNC machines) in life size!