Crystal Palace (Ljubljana)

Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace
General information
Type	Multi-use
Location	Šmartinska cesta 152; Ljubljana, Slovenia
Construction started	May 15, 2009
Completed	2011
Opening	May 2011
Owner	Skai center; (BTC d.d. 60%, Nuba d.o.o. 40%)
Height
Roof	89 m (292 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	20
Floor area	46,000 m2 (495,140 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Brane Smole & Denis Simčič (Atelje S)
Main contractor	Grosuplje d.d.

The Crystal Palace (Slovene: Kristalna palača) is a skyscraper in Ljubljana, Slovenia, situated within the BTC City shopping centre in Nove Jarše district in the northwestern part of the city. Standing 89 metres (290 ft) and 20 storeys tall, it is currently the tallest building in Slovenia.^[1]

The building houses high end stores, a wellness centre, business offices, and a congress hall.

Construction

Construction began with laying of the foundation stone on May 15, 2009. The building has a distinctive shape, with supporting columns jutting out until the second floor, after which it gradually tapers toward the top. The first part proved the most challenging during construction: it took almost a year to finish it, after which the building grew one storey each 8 days and reached the final height in September 2010.^[1]^[2]

Plans for the Crystal Palace were made by Slovene architects Brane Smole and Denis Simčič. The 54 million Euro investment is covered by companies BTC d.d. and Nuba d.o.o and managed by the company Skai center established by the two parent companies for this purpose. Originally, the building was planned to be over 100 metres (330 ft) tall. The owners still intend to build a helipad on the roof which was not a part of the finished building due to difficulties with Slovene air traffic regulations.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Velikonja, Bojan; Mehle, Borut (2011-06-24). "Ena etaža v osmih dneh". Dnevnik (in Slovenian). Retrieved 2011-06-24.
^ "Kristalna palača v ljubljanskem BTC pod streho". Siol.net. 2011-09-24. Archived from the original on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2011-06-28.