The recently revitalised Boathouse Zaka is not iconic or formally expressive. It is intentionally humble, respectful, and embedded within its environment. It offers a model for low-impact, high-value architecture: one that preserves memory, extends the life of existing structures, and adds new layers of meaning through ecology and public engagement. Furthermore, it plays a vital scientific and operational role. It serves as the main storage facility for two research boats used by the Environmental Agency of the Republic of Slovenia, supporting regular fieldwork dedicated to the monitoring of Lake Bled’s water quality.
The intervention focused on retaining its full original wooden structure, preserving proportions, scale, and architectural language of vernacular lakeside buildings found across the Julian Alps. The entire timber frame was carefully dismantled, examined, and restored, and all wooden façade cladding was cleaned, repaired, and protected using traditional pine resin.
To allow the building to breathe and visually connect with the water and surrounding forest, the existing façade was not reinstalled uniformly. Instead, the wooden planks were rotated and offset at varying angles, generating a rhythm of slats that offers a degree of transparency, shadow play, and filtered views from within and without. This subtle articulation transforms the building envelope from a purely protective surface into a responsive, living membrane that interacts with light, air, and moisture—elements intrinsic to its lakeside setting.
Recognising the building’s strategic position and scientific purpose, the architects proposed the installation of a experimental and didactic rooftop system, a series of custom-made wooden trays atop the pitched roof, each containing locally sourced alpine flower species. These are not ornamental in nature; they are part of a living experiment in natural filtration and ecological education. The roof becomes both a landscape and a laboratory, merging built form with ecosystem function.
Client: Environmental Agency of the Republic of Slovenia
Contractors: Mizarstvo Ovsenik d.o.o.
Landscape technology: MT Cvek d.o.o.
Photos: Miran Kambic
