The salt-pan houses in Secovlje Salina Nature Park have been abandoned for many years. However, they still carry historical and cultural meanings. They witnessed the once-glorious period of salt harvesting, which is used to be a key economic activity in Piran, although they have turned to ruins now.

The salt-pan houses in the area are degrading very severely. We believe that the best way to protect the area from further ruining is to highlight this area and draw back more people’s attention. These abandoned houses need people to give them new lives. To do that, we propose to build a new structure above the existing ruin, as if it grows from the old. We would like to build the structure as tall as possible with the limited materials to make it a monument that recalls people’s memory of salt harvesting period. To emphasize that, a layer of voile in the shape of salt pile is suspended in the structure. When people walk under the sit, they are surrounded by both old and new structures, and the voile over their heads reminds them of the meanings of salt pan and the old days when they used to dwell these houses.

The new structure follows the rhythm of the ruin’s geometry, which makes it grow more naturally. It is related but isolated from the ruin. The entire structure is supported by nine columns made by CLT panels. To save the CLT and build the structure higher, steel cables are used as bracing to strengthen the structure. A ladder is equipped in the structure for repairman’s convenience, in case there are damages after it is built.

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