When the clock starts ticking again : conceptual design project for revitalization of Zalazi villages in the hinterland of Boka Kotorska

Žižić, Ksenija (author), Zorec, Maruša (mentor), Flores, Ricardo (comentor), Prats, Eva (comentor)

This master’s thesis deals with the issue of abandoned rural heritage and explores the potential of its revitalization through the case study of Zalazi, a scattered village ensemble in the hinterland of Boka Kotorska, Montenegro. In the first part, the work discovers the villages. It explores the site’s history and the reasons for abandonment. It observes the ruins and makes documentation of the as-found state through drawings and physical models. It identifies elements of the natural, cultural, and architectural value of the site and proposes criteria for its valorization and protection. The second phase narrows the focus to the central village of Mali Zalazi and documents it in more detail. Furthermore, it proposes a programmatically and architecturally defined scenario of the first reoccupation by a new cultural center dedicated to the artistic interpretation of Montenegrin history, deeply embedded in the stories of Zalazi.

• Language: English
• Keywords: arhitektura, ruralna dediščina, revitalizacija, Boka Kotorska, Zalazi, kulturni center
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.09 - Master's Thesis
• Organization: FA - Faculty of Architecture
• Publication status: Published
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 180 str., [43] f. zganj. pril.
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-181543
• COBISS.SI-ID: 277358851
• Publication date in RUL: 10.04.2026

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Ko začne ura znova tiktakati : idejna zasnova revitalizacije vasi Zalazi v zaledju Boke Kotorske

Abstract

Magistrska naloga obravnava problematiko zapuščene ruralne dediščine, ter raziskuje potencial njene revitalizacije na primeru razpršene vasi Zalazi v zaledju Boke Kotorske, v Črni Gori. Prvi del naloge odkriva lokacijo, raziskuje zgodovino vasi in razloge njene zapuščenosti. Opazuje ruševine ter skozi risbo in maketo dokumentira obstoječe stanje. Opredeli elemente naravne, kulturne in arhitekturne vrednosti lokacije in predlaga kriterije za evidentiranje in zaščito. Drugi del naloge se osredotoči na osrednjo vas Mali Zalazi in jo podrobneje dokumentira. Predlaga programsko in arhitekturno konkreten scenarij revitalizacije vasi z novim programom kulturnega centra posvečenega umetniški interpretaciji črnogorske zgodovine, globoko vpete v zgodbe vaščanov.

• Keywords: architecture, rural heritage, revitalization, Boka Kotorska, Zalazi, cultural center