Večino idrijskih rudarskih hiš je bilo zgrajenih med letoma  1776 in 1876, zgradili pa so jih rudarji sami, in sicer iz lokalnih in obnovljivih materialov. Apnenec so uporabili za temelje in zidove kleti, lesene skodle za strehe, gašeno apno in trstičje za ometane fasade, lesene tramove za stene …

Pri prenavljanju bomo dali prednost tradicionalnim materialom (les, apno) in tradicionalnim metodam gradnje (glineni omet, apneni omet, tesarski spoji, kamnoseštvo, lesena konstrukcija, ponovna uporaba lesa). Poleg tega želimo preko delavnic, vaj in gostovanja mojstrov tradicionalne gradnje ponovno uvesti, popularizirati in deliti znanje o uporabi tradicionalnih gradbenih materialov in tehnik.

Skušamo čimbolj zmanjšati uporabo jekla in betona pri obnovi in gradnji in namesto vključevati obnovljive gradbene materiale (konstrukcijski les, ponovno uporabljen les, okolju prijazna vezivna sredstva …)

Rast Idrije je bila skozi stoletja omejena z geografijo mesta, zato število prebivalcev nikoli ni preseglo 6000. Z iniciativo si prizadevamo v Idriji doseči nevtralnost območja, kar je v tako ozki dolini hkrati okolju prijazna rešitev, urbanistično ustrezna izbira  in strateška nujnost. Zgostitev mesta bo tudi občutno prispevala k utrditvi prostorske identitete in kulturne krajine idrijskega kotline.

Jasne linije, funkcionalna drža, simetrične fasade, dvobravna paleta, z apnom ometena lesena konstrukcija, monumentalni nazor, skriti prizidki in zeleno okolje idrijskih rudarskih hiš dokazujejo, da je lahko arhitektura brez formalno izobraženih arhitektov brezčasna, umetniška in estetsko dovršena. Od teh nešolanih gradbenikov se želimo učiti gradnje za 21. stoletje.

Iniciativa je razvita s strani Društva Idrija 2020 (društvo za razvoj na področju mladih) in inštituta ID20 (nevladna organizacija, podružnica društva Idrija 2020), ki združujeta mlade (25 – 35 let) strokovnjake iz Idrije and have implemented several award-winning projects for youngsters and young people on the topic of cultural heritage (e.g. business incubator HeritageLab (winner of European Social Innovation Competition 2018 by European Commission), hackathon HeritageHack (awarded European Heritage Days Stories 2019 by the Council of Europe and European Commission)).

We envision to involve up to 100 young people in the initiative – through on-site workshops, trainings and lectures on traditional construction, sustainable architecture and design, social innovation and cultural heritage development.

Our initiative seeks inspiration and relies its implementation on inclusion and close collaboration with “Tausendkünstler-s”. The german word Tausendkünstler (in dialect adapted to “taunžtkunstler”) can be translated as the “artist with thousand skills” – local older inhabitants that have (through their broad range of jobs and self-initiative) come to master a diverse range of skills, from traditional construction to wood working, engineering and craft.

We envision to involve (and fairly pay) 10 Tausendkünsler-s that will teach-through-practice their skills and approaches to younger generations of renovators. In this two-way process, Tausendkünstlers (often retired, poor or unemployed and facing loneliness and social exclusion) will be recognised for their abilities as practitioners and life experiences – in a setting, where their socioeconomic status and unforgiving life will be put aside.

The team behind the initiative has been working at the crossroad of cultural heritage, entrepreneurship, youth policies and social innovation for several years. Thusly, the team has put all the best ideas and proven approaches into 102 Initiative to develop a sound proposal – both business-wise and social-wise.

102 Initiative is not solely a brick-and-mortar renovation project – it is a community project that started with broad action research of housing heritage. Through field research, interviews with owners, public meetings and discussions, 102 Initiative encourages inhabitants to contribute and participate in the understanding the current status and potential ways forward. The initiative involves a diverse range of stakeholders, young people and Tausendkünstlers that are all engaged not as “consumers/users”, but active collaborators. 

ID20 has been adopting STEAM (science-technology-engineering-art-mathematics) approach to education and organising photography, engineering, chemistry and physics, as well as art workshops at annual “culture day” at Idrija Grammar School (15 – 19 y.o.). Within 102 Initiative, the classes will be moved on-site – to the building site.