OFIS Architects

OFIS Architects is a firm of architects established in 1996 by Rok Oman and Špela Videčnik, both graduates of the Ljubljana School of Architecture and the London Architectural Association. Upon graduation they had already won several prominent competitions, such as Football Stadium Maribor and the Ljubljana City Museum extension and renovation. Many of their projects have been nominated for awards including the Mies van der Rohe award. In 2013 they received the Plecnik medal for the Habitable Space Habitable Wheel, in 2012 they received the Platinum Pen award for their international achievements, in 2009 they received a silver IOC/IAKS medal for their football stadium, in 2006 they received the European Grand Prix for Innovation Award, in 2005 their Villa Bled received an honourable mention at the Miami Biennial and in 2004 they were highly commended for their City Museum renovation and extension by the UK Architectural Review’s annual AR+D awards. In 2000, they won the “Young architect of the year” award in London.

The company is based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, but works internationally. They won a large business complex in Venice Marghera, Italy and a residential complex in Graz, Austria. However, it was by winning 180 apartments in Paris, France their first large scale development abroad, which led them to open a branch office in France, 2007. This has been followed by a second large scale development with the construction of a football stadium for FC BATE in Borisov, Belarus, due for completion in 2013. They also have partner firm agreements in London, Paris and Moscow. Their academic career involves teaching at Harvard University in USA.

The beginnings of OFIS' activities date back to the nineties, which was as an exciting yet difficult period for the former Yugoslavian republics that were undergoing intense self-re-evaluation and reinvention from scratch, economically and culturally. In terms of architecture this meant that most of the larger architectural offices had to be scaled down or went bankrupt and so creating an empty space for younger groups or individuals to participate in architectural competitions.

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