Part of the urban landscape, traffic circles can easily become artistic interpretations. When traveling to Slovenia by car, maybe you will come across the Podcetrtek Traffic Circle – “built on a regional road located between the municipal sports hall with open-air sports grounds on one side and a spa center with numerous swimming pools and hotels on the other side.” Designed by ENOTA, the Podcetrtek Traffic Circle displays an interesting engineering intended to slow down traffic in the area and guide drivers towards their destinations.
Composed of large dark blocks shaped as under the influence of a tectonic shift, the rounded installation shows a different view on the road blockage – an imaginary response from deep inside the Earth, surfacing with enough force to shape a volumetric display of massive blocks. In balance with its surroundings, the traffic circle was designed to match the adjacent folded volume displayed by the sports hall. “In combination with the water, which sporadically rises to the surface between the clefts, it is somewhat reminiscent of geyser-strewn basalt strata, its appearance thus also evoking the spa complex.”
