In this master’s thesis, I focus on the understanding of the concept of “nature” in Western thought, as it is shaped through the interplay of subjective experience, scientific rationalization, and ideological constructions of the world. In the theoretical part, I examine the processes through which nature is transformed from its “original” condition into an object of scientific inquiry, aesthetic representation, and/or capitalist accumulation. I am particularly interested in the spatial typologies of the museum and the botanical garden, which, as spatial manifestations, reveal tensions; between rational order and imagination, between observing and possessing the living world.
In addition to my interest in these two typologies, my research focus was shaped through visits to a site characterized by an interplay of historical layers and spontaneous ecological processes. The Studenci district was once one of Maribor’s key industrial areas, within which the Railway Workers’ Colony, together with the complex of workshops of the Southern Railway (1863) and other production facilities, still represents an exceptional monument to the spatial and social conditions of living and working in the city’s early industrial period.
The analytical part of the thesis is based on fieldwork, archival research, and interviews with experts and members of the local community.
In the design phase, I develop a new museum typology that seeks to overcome the traditional dichotomy between “natural” and “cultural” heritage, understanding them instead as historically and physically inseparable entities. Within the context of the post-industrial regeneration of Studenci, the building is conceived as a living organism—a connective infrastructure for the area that fosters dialogue, research, and flexible use of space.
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