Aleksandra Marjanovic,
spatial designer
E-m: aleksandra@marjanovic.com
no: + 49 174 8232330

A series of posters done for talks by Vink Totic, an expert on the ancient pyramids in Bosnia. Care was taken that the promotional material accented the spiritual nature of the topic.

A project done in cooperation with the Mitschraubgelegenheit- a DIY bike fixing station in the student mensa of Cologne university. The goal was to create a series of helpful and appealing graphic instructions, with a minimum of text that would help bikers new to the task solve the basic fix problems by themselves. Take a look at the full documentation by clicking here.

A self-initiated project for the Music Makers Hacklab Berlin event that allows practitioners for a rage of disciplines to find new ways of exploring hybrid systems of the human body, biology and sound. The posters are meant to ‘digitalize’ organic ‘instruments’ like the blue jay, and give an almost organic complexity to man made instruments, such as the jazz saxophone.

A self-initiated graphics project exploring the possibilities of mixed media and typography.

The haptic elements of our society are slowly dying out, as well as our awareness of them. The idea of touch today seems to revolve around screens and digital interfaces. With technology in the spot light, the need to go back to basics and get back in touch (pun intended) with our haptic senses seems more important than ever. The KISD cabinet of curiosities exhibit was our reply to the brief of the EXPOCASE, which was part of an international trade fair for museums, conservation and heritage called EXPONATEC COLOGNE 2013. At the fair, the cabinet of curiosities were exhibited under the theme touch and it was open for visitors to explore. Check out the video bellow!

The aim of the project: Ideate, design, develop and implement an exhibition idea for the 2014 Salone del Mobile- a part of the Milan Furniture Fair-to present Koln International School of Design and the topic 'we dont work, we play'. So we asked ourselves: ‘What does furniture mean for us today?’ ‘How can we make our enivronment more adaptable to our chainging needs?’ ‘If we wanted to ‘play’ with our environment, what would be the ‘toys’ consist of?’. In the end, we managed to create a series of wooden elements that were directly related in size and shape to the Froebels Spielgabe, a classic toy from the 18th century designed by German pedagogue Frederick Froebel, meant to help in the development of children’s logical and spatial abilities. Frank Lloyd Wright claims that they helped him become the great architect he’s known as being today! For a short video of the process, take a look bellow!

2 days, 3 people and many cups of coffe- the SEAT challenge archithon was an event that invited 40 architecture students from Spain and Germany to Barcelona in order to answer the question ‘What would a digital museum displaying the heritage of the Seat car brand look like?’ Our team decided that the experience of driving a SEAT was where the answer lay, rather than in the design of a digital building for its own sake. We used the three iconic models to embody the three main eras of development for the brand and also suggested how the digital experience could be set up as an exhibition pavilion when needed.

As preparation for my master thesis on the strategies and models of exhibition design, I analysed the spaces of 4 very different exhibitions in Cologne using the basic elements of narrative as a guide: story, content, context and path. By viewing multiple aspects of the exhibition narrative at once (how the user journey feels like, which topics and exhibited and how movement through the space is restricted ), I was able to gain a more holistic understanding of exhibition design in general.

Le Corbusier’s 1920’s vision of the Radial City or Ville Radieuse was a utopian urbanism of high rise towers surrounded by large parks and connected by massive freeways. New Belgrade, a settlement developed in the 1950’s on the left banks of the Sava river, is a clear embodiment of this utopian plan and also of its unrealistically romantic ambitions. The organic radial city is a critique of the radial urbanism that seeks to, rather than reverse the past, push it to its limits. ‘Floating’ freeways that span lego-like adaptable towers float above fields that are now used to cultivate crops. These organic foods are then sold in the massive markets that become the core meeting-points in the settlement. The Organic radial city of New Belgrade is at once a utopia and dystopia, a hybrid vision of new and old, an impossible solution for a city distraught between the unfulfilled potentials of the past and an uncertain future…

Around the riverside area that spans a massive 4 hectares in the heart of Belgrade, a visitor will find nothing other than years of accumulated trash and rusty rafts- both abandoned and in use. How do you resurrect an area so large and so desolate? Where do you start? The answer is that there is no all-encompassing, 'magic' solution. The process will necessarily be slow and would involve a number of ‘acupuncture’ points from which the area gradualy develops. Like a business incubator nurtures and assists frail ideas to grow intro eventually strong and successful companies, so too should the revitalization plan for the Danube bank be considered a long- term incubation process rather than a competition for a single building or park that will stand alone and eventually fade and adapt to the decay of its surroundings.

Košutnjak park was the context for this brief; an area rich in natural green beauty and fresh air. What would be the best way to place a man-made structure in a densely forested space without disrupting the habitat? Instead of hiding and camouflaging the architecture, its made to stand out from its surroundings in a way that celebrates them. Like a boat out to sea, the institute of design displays its ‘mast’ proudly- a membrane like structure the covers the outdoor auditorium where the students can liten to lectures while being outside. The interior includes areas for exploration, ideation, collaboration and prototyping. Allowing students and mentors from different fields of expertise to work together on a common project- an idea still novel in Belgrade.

>When designing architecture to house the renounce TedX conferences, the ideals and representations of the space are just as important as the functions it supports. A round, glowing, elegant stadium structure symbolizes the egalitarian ideals of an enlightened and collaborative society the Ted talks encourage. The man-made topography elevates the symbol-building above the veduta, also creating a ‘natural’ outdoor amphitheatre. Where as the ground floor houses the ‘public’ spaces, such as the library and the restaurant, the upper, ‘mezzanine’ like floors house the exhibition spaces and the basement, the large circular amphitheatre where the talks are held. A great oblique vault that runs through the whole building connects the floors, creating a feeling of one wholesome, contemporary and democratic space.

Our group was determined to find out exactly which sort of food the inhabitants of Cologne are fond of, and in what ways do they consume it. After that, we created new food concept from our research- a fast food version of the tradiotional 'blood sausage with potatoes' that the city is known for. Contemporary consumption patters meets traditional recepies. For a closer look at the reaseach and outcome, click here.

Karneval – a masquerade festival lasting 5 days at its peak- is a big deal in Cologne, and so is finding the right costume. As a design challenge I decided to design and build my own mask for last season. Cro, the popular German rapper who is always seen with a panda mask on, offered the perfect inspiration for the polygon panda I modelled in Rhino, printed out and folded into the perfect carnival costume. Now if I could just commit the lyrics of ‘Einmal um die Welt’

Sketching is more than a way to visualize an idea- its way of thinking and seeing the world with your hands. Whether an analical croquis or a phantasmagorical scene, I always turn to the pen and paper for guidance and inspiration.