THE GENESIS OF POST-WAR CITY PLANNING ON THE SLOVENE COAST

The genesis of post-war city planning on the Slovene coast is based on harmoniousness established between man, nature and architecture. City plans dating from 1954 to 1985, either on the regional, macro or micro scale, were inspired by the natural characteristics of space. The profound knowledge of space was the result of in-depth comparative analyses. City planning therefore took into consideration space with all its characteristics, its regional identity and customs of the people inhabiting it. According to Geddes (1915), whose words were applied by Edo Mihevc, city and/or landscape planning may only be based on the above-mentioned analyses, for these form the basic knowledge about the space involved. Once the characteristics and the identity of space had been recognised, space planning and design turned into the establishing of a constructive link between the past and the future. The Slovene coast landscape image is, indeed, the result of a disciplined recognition of basic components and of the incorporation of building material into the Mediterranean landscape, the use of autochthonous materials, tile roof coverings and window shutters, the preservation and protection of the terrace and green areas, and the balance between the traditional concept of space and development. The paper focuses on Edo Mihevc's city plans underlining regional identity, design influenced by humanism in philosophy, visionary planning and space art. The city planning of the Slovene coast made a considerable impact on Slovene identity. The paper presents several Edo Mihevc's city plans, i.e. The Regional Plan of the Slovene coast (1963), The Koper city plan (1961), the Simonov zaliv city plan (1968), The Izola city plan (1971), The Piran-Bernardin-Portorož city plan (1973) and The Marina Portorož Complex plan (1960 - 1985).