Conceptual design for the reconstruction and extension of the primary school

The school in Preko is located on a distinctly demanding sloped site, positioned between the existing road, the sports field and the natural green backdrop of the island. Even in its current state, the building is terraced into the terrain, with volumes that follow the slope of the plot and create a sequence of split levels, passages and views towards the surrounding school grounds.

The main architectural concept arises from the given structure of the existing school, as well as from the local architecture of the island of Ugljan. The existing building, with its elongated volumes, pitched roofs and rhythm of openings, became the starting point for the new intervention. The extension does not attempt to erase the existing condition, but to continue its logic — through clear volumes, simple lines and a restrained relationship with the terrain.

The design also reflects a relationship with island architecture: with houses that do not dominate their surroundings, but rather adapt to the slope of the land, the light, the wind and the scale of the place. The new part of the school is therefore not conceived as an imposed gesture, but as a continuation of the existing whole — contemporary yet calm; functional yet rooted in the local context.

Margareta steps through the door of an apartment that, until recently, was a storage space for other people’s needs.

The transition is quiet, yet unmistakable – as if she is stepping into herself. Warm, rounded walls in earthy tones receive her and gently enclose her. There are no sharp edges here, no sense of urgency. She feels that she belongs.

She moves slowly. Her feet touch a floor marked by time, while light glides across surfaces that are not perfect – and precisely because of that, feel alive. The walls respond to the passing day, to shadow, to movement. As if the space is observing her just as much as she is observing it.

This interior was not born from a trend, but from memory. From cities she once passed through, from interiors where people sat low, talked long, and listened carefully. As a sociologist, Margareta observes spaces the same way she observes people — she is interested in how life is lived, how encounters happen, how everyday moments are shared. Different cultures of living are woven into her inner world, and now into this space as well.

That is why the centre of the home is not defined by a conventional sofa, but by a conversation pit – a sunken seating area that dissolves hierarchy, brings bodies closer, and slows communication. Here, one does not sit opposite someone, but with someone. Conversations become deeper, presence more tangible, and silence as meaningful as words.

Plants appear in the space as well – sparingly, thoughtfully, without decorative excess. Zamioculcas, a plant that prefers half-shade and calm, shares the same conditions as Margareta. It does not demand attention, it does not impose itself, yet it is always there. Its deep green leaves introduce a quiet memory of nature, of continuity and duration – a living element that ages, grows, and remains together with the space.

Directed light reveals the objects that matter to her. Artworks she has collected for years, but never had a place to display. Books waiting for the right moment to be opened – and those she returns to again and again. Souvenirs from journeys, from places where she experienced, saw, felt, and left parts of herself behind.