Plečnik’s Insurance Building

Plečnik’s Insurance Building looks like a palace, but its function is designed as a commercial and residential building. The building’s exterior, like Plečnik’s other works, draws inspiration from ancient architecture. The upper part is made of columns and half columns of brick from Vrchnice, while the lower part is restrained and made of untreated stone from Podpeč. In the interior, Plečnik worked on solving the problem of the odd angle between the two building tracts. He cleverly concealed the acute angle in the circular vestibule and emphasised it on the staircase itself with a triangular opening between the staircase frames. The offices of the insurance company were originally located only on the first floor, the so-called mezzanine. The ground floor was used for cafés and the upper floor for tenant apartments. Plečnik also designed the furnishings for the insurance company’s offices. Today, only part of the meeting room equipment and some of the joinery and parquet flooring have survived.