Pristina!
The LINA Forum in Pristina was incredible! So many connections were made, ideas exchanged and conversations started: we look forward to seeing where the web of connections that LINA knits takes us in the years to come.
The new generation of LINA Fellows brought so many thoughtful and kind people to our community, and we are privileged to be a part of it. Each year, our meetings become more meaningful. With uncertain geopolitical contexts framing the everyday lives of more and more of our community members, the strength and importance of our connections is growing.
We were excited to listen to LINA Alumnus Ewa Effiom deliver the State of Architecture address, which is both a response to the work of LINA Fellows and an observation of architecture in the world today.
During the presentation, Ewa argued that architecture is haunted by a future that modernity once promised but never delivered. He demonstrated how the discipline now finds itself caught between exhaustion and possibility. However, there is hope in the new generation, which treats architecture not as a product, but as an act of care, repair and collective imagination.
We were happy to take part in the fruitful debate that followed, which reminded us that the future of architecture depends not on 'how much we build, but how attentively we inhabit the world'.
We are deeply thankful to our hosts, Kosovo Architecture Foundation with Bekim Ramku and Rona Kasabaqi for making us feel at home in their city and so generously sharing its many perspectives.
The tour of Pristina, that took place on Friday morning, took us through the city and the layers, stories and characters that inhabit it.
Our sincere thanks go to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, for their support, and to Daulina Osmani, the Republic of Kosovo's Deputy Minister for the opening speech at the event. We are also very thankful to Perparim Rama, Mayor of Pristina, for welcoming us. Throughout the two days, we were graciously hosted by the National Library of Kosovo and by the ICK, who shared the spaces where we exchanged ideas.
Thank you to Pro Helvetia for bringing Swiss architects to LINA, and to our coordinating organisation, the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana, for coordination and support.
Our whole community would not be possible without the Creative Europe programme of the EU, who co-funds our platform from its inception.
Video credits: Rebeka Bratož Gornik
Photo credits: Urban Cerjak
