"Revival" of Janjeva on the third floor of "Grand"

Her work is an example of how an architect can help revive a city. Argjire Krasniqi has chosen Janjeva, the city once known for cultural diversity, badly hit by the consequences of wars in the 90s. Her exhibition for "Manifesto 14" is titled "Young Carnating Janjeva in Kosovo", and "reincarnates" on the ruins. But its presentation on the third floor of the "Grand" hotel opens other paths

On the third floor of the "Grand" hotel, the architect Argjire Krasniqi has artistically moved a part of the heritage of the town of Janjeva. Apart from the past, her work breaks down the vision of the future of this country. From the beginning, architect Krasniqi informs the public that it is a multicultural town in Kosovo. According to her, narrative is essential to connect the past with the future. In front of them, she unfolds the study project on how to give a new life to the "war architectures" of the town. Although the town has lost its city status, it is referred to as a city throughout its project. A photo atlas of vacant lots documents the hundreds of abandoned buildings in it. In "Youth carnating Janjeva in Kosovo", she "reincarnates" on the ruins as she has revealed a part of her project and her research work of almost a year. When explaining life in Janjevë, Krasniqi begins by saying that not everyone who has left the country decides to return to it. And this is the decision chosen by half of the population of Janjeva. The abandonment of the town known for its cultural diversity, where six nationalities lived, reached its peak in the 90s when the flames of war were raging in the Balkans. Janjeva, although not directly involved in the war - does not count damages from it, but the consequences that have affected it indirectly. The biggest burden is the abandonment of the country. Therefore, Krasniqi speaks precisely to this phenomenon, presenting the project of the revival of this 700-year-old town.

Through the artistic works, it affects different aspects of the town, treating them in economic, social and architectural terms. With this, Krasniqi emphasizes that he has tried to give an example of how the architect can help revive a post-war city and how he can create a general environment for different cultures.

"The project shows how we can revive the town of Janjeva, where it is known that more than 50 percent of the buildings are abandoned and the town, especially in the last century, has experienced a lot of trauma especially due to the economic aspect due to the wars of a that have happened in the entire Balkans", she said.

Krasniqi, who specializes in sustainable architecture, has also published a book summarizing the research on Janjeva.

For her project, she worked closely with adults and children living in Janjevë to make their memories, wishes and imaginations the basis of her succession strategy.

Hand-drawn sketches visualize the various minimal interventions designed to heal and restore many schools, homes, movie theaters, and other work and gathering spaces.

"It was very important for me to involve the citizens who are related to the town. I have tried to do as many interviews as possible with different generations who still live in Janjevë and with visitors who go and have told what their goals are for," she explained.

Krasniqi got the main inspiration for the project from the children of the town of Janjeva, with whom he conducted three workshops in the elementary school of this town. According to her, their dreams should be made a reality in order to give them a reason to stay.

"For me it has been essential to understand their dreams so that it becomes possible for them to stay in a relative a little more distant", said the architect Krasniqi.

She says that she was attracted to Janjeva because of its geographical position and very special architecture and because of the fact that this is a town that has not experienced direct war, where no resident has been killed and no house has been burned. But the recent wars have directly affected the country that was once inhabited by six nationalities.

She has sketched four abandoned buildings and how to intervene in these spaces to make them usable. Also, he made a sketch which presents the town in its entirety. There he presents the whole strategy of the revival of the town.

"The first step that I propose to be taken to bring Janjeva back to life is that the Municipality has the right to use the abandoned spaces for the general good, to make an analysis of these spaces and then certain individuals and organizations civil society to have the right to apply to the Municipality to use those spaces for their purposes", she explained. In one of the sketches, she has expressed her entire plan for the revival of the town, illustrating all the steps that need to be taken. The municipality is illustrated as the address that helps in finding different forms of financial support for this space. In the main outline of Krasniqi, everything is given in detail. A dynamic life unfolds within different parts of the town. According to her, the former school should become the main address for young people.

"The main facility that offers training for those who want to learn a new trade is the former primary school, which is also the last facility that was abandoned in Janjevë in 2004," she told KOĖN.

According to her, the interventions in the object should show all the layers in which the object has passed. Therefore, she has placed different types of clay that connect the past and the present. The installation of clay, shingle and pigment shows different variants of how the final product can be if such material is used in buildings.

"Besides clay has influenced the construction of many functional objects, it has also helped in the development of ideas in terms of aesthetics, both indoors and outdoors," she added.

Argjire Krasniqi, who studied at the KU Leuven University (Belgium), the Technical University of Vienna (Austria) and the University of Pristina, among others, is the founder of the non-profit organization "Ecocietystudies" which has organized and implemented a series of projects in cooperation since 2014. Her work has been displayed and published locally and internationally, including the Kosovo Pavilion at the 17th edition of the International Architecture Biennale in Venice when the country was presented with "C0ntainp0rary" curated by Maksut Vezgish, the year of passed.

She lives and works between Pristina and Brussels and is currently engaged in a design studio and research projects between these two countries.