On the sixth of November, Center Rog, a creative and social hub will open its workshops—referred to as “labs”—to the public. Starting next month, the first seven project studios on the second floor of the former bicycle factory, later also known as the autonomous Rog factory, will be occupied by creatives selected through a call for proposals.
However, construction workers are still bustling around Center Rog these days. Most spaces, including the ground-floor workshops, were still empty last week when we visited the Center Rog.
Meta Štular: By November, the spaces will be equipped—some fully, others partially. As of today, the residents have begun arriving in our residency spaces. These are makers from six countries from around the world who will assist our workshop leaders in setting up the workshops. Starting on November 6, we’ll begin with what we’re calling “open labs” or informational days, where people can sign up online for free, come by to take a look, and ask questions about what they’ll be able to do here.
This is how Meta Štular, Head of Programs and Strategic Development at Center Rog, explained things to us in the still-empty FabLab. However, Center Rog isn’t waiting for the final construction works to be fully completed, nor for any formal opening ceremony. Workshop leaders and program staff are already hard at work in the administrative offices on the third floor.
Last week, posters for Rog Centre were visible along Trubarjeva Street, inviting neighbors to come and connect. Nearby, we also noticed a few red counter-posters listing some of the spaces and collectives that once operated in the Autonomous Factory Rog and later disappeared without a trace. Yet, the past of the temporary use and autonomous factory has had little influence on the programming and content of Rog Centre.
MŠ: The entire concept for the maker space part of Center Rog naturally stems from our experience developing it through RogLab—the small prototype container. Within those 28 square meters, the essence of the future center was distilled through activities of 6,000 individual users who—based on their direct experience of making, working, and forming partnerships in RogLab—also advised us on improvements and programs they’d like to see in the future.
This feedback shaped the concept for Center Rog, which was formally approved by stakeholders in 2019. We have expanded the fab lab concept to include a wider range of maker technologies, including traditional crafts like pottery. We now have a ceramics lab and a glass lab, and we’ll also have a jewelry lab, a woodworking workshop, a metalworking workshop, and, to the left of the entrance, a food lab.
In addition to these, the ground floor will also feature a Green Lab, designed for gardening enthusiasts and fans of microorganisms, as well as a Textile Lab. The machinery we had only envisioned in the FabLab and Textile Workshop is already a reality in the woodworking shop, where more than ten substantial wood-processing machines are already in place.
MŠ: The development and equipment selection for all these labs was guided by input from experts. We had eight working groups composed of users, university professors, people from various companies, and others. Together, we considered which equipment would be most suitable for these workshops, avoiding duplication with universities that already have certain equipment and enabling complementarity.
Center Rog is a shared space, so we aim to complement the equipment available at universities with the tools we have here. The University of Ljubljana, in fact, is one of our main strategic partners; they will be using this space to develop their students’ interdisciplinary projects.
At Center Rog, they want people to think of the workshops similarly to a library, where anyone can join and borrow any book. The annual membership fee will be fifteen euros, granting members access to three “user packages” that provide unlimited access to workspaces for specific periods.
For twenty euros, you’ll get five days of access to the workshops, a monthly pass will be available for sixty euros, and a full year of woodworking or sewing will cost three hundred ninety euros. However, before you sit down at a machine and risk cutting your hand on a saw or sewing your fingers together, you’ll need to complete a training on tool usage.
Membership includes one free training on machine use of your choice. Prices will be even lower for students and retirees. But what if you’re as poor as a church mouse?
MŠ: For each activity, we have two reserved spots for people who simply can’t afford it. These are two free spots, and everyone in need can just reach out to us directly and participate without anyone knowing they received free access.
Each workshop will accommodate five to six people at a time—each at their own pre-reserved workstation, of course. During the week, workshops will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with a technician on-site to provide guidance and assistance.
Each of the eight workshops will have, in addition to a full-time lead, four or five external collaborators who will serve as mentors. According to Meta Štular, about one-third of Center Rog’s staff will be full-time employees, with two-thirds working as external collaborators. Currently, there are fourteen employees.
The second and third floors of Center Rog house nineteen project studios, ranging from fifty to one hundred square meters. These studios, dedicated to applied arts like fashion design, are assigned through a public call for periods of one to three years.
MŠ: Generally speaking, if you’re developing a prototype from an idea onward, you need some time to conceptualize it, then you begin developing the prototype, and afterward, you test it with users. Typically, developing a prototype takes anywhere from a few months to a year. Later, when you want to produce a final product, we’ve set a timeline of two to three years for that.
This is not just an arbitrarily defined deadline; we consulted various designers about how long it takes to develop a prototype and how long it takes to develop a product, and it is these time frames that the experts suggested.
The project that a creator submits must result in a usable product or prototype and must have either a positive social or environmental impact. Currently, seven projects selected in the first call for project studios are listed on the Rog Centre website.
According to Meta Štular, the expert committee awarded most spaces for a duration of two years. Contracts for studio use cannot be extended beyond the allocated period.
In addition to the studios, the second floor features several spaces designated for group use. For example, there is a classroom intended for collaboration with the university, and a space for the Young Rog Program, where ten young creatives will have the opportunity to pursue their dreams for one year.
MŠ: The criterion for using this space is that you are no longer a student. You just need to apply. You must articulate your vision or what you want to do. There are no requirements to create any sustainable product or to produce any innovative product; you only need your idea and vision, and we allow you to work here. From that, something may arise—or it may not.We created the Young Rog Program because we realized that many young people, once they finish their studies, no longer have access to university infrastructure, while other facilities are also out of their reach. This way, the society risks losing young talent just as they are experiencing their greatest creative flourishing.So we wanted to offer them a kind of buffer zone where we can support them in developing their ideas, and pamper them a bit, before they embark on their professional paths.We also have a larger space here that isn’t specifically programmed and will remain that way. We find that often, when people begin to engage creatively in any field, they simply need a space to socialize. Nothing more. Therefore, this space will be available for people who do not yet have any clear ideas and are currently just an undefined group of individuals.Last week, there was still a lot of empty space at Center Rog—both literally and metaphorically. Despite the best intentions of the management and staff, all these calls, committees, and program collaborations still sound somewhat sterile. But don’t worry, we’ll soon be able to assess how successfully Center Rog will operate.Whether the coffee on the terrace will be accompanied by the sounds of sawing, cutting, and drilling from the workshops, or whether the studios and workshops will be cluttered and messy, we will know in a few months.
Originally published on the Radio Student website on 24 October 2023 by Vid Bešter (This is a shortened version.)