The Croat architects Lea Pelivan (Split, 1976) and Toma Plejic (Riijeka, 1977) both graduated in 2001 from the Zagreb University opened their architecture office two years later. They are the designers of Frameworks (a specific project for the 2004 Venice Biennial) and of several buildings in Split and Zagreb. They have transformed the image of the surrounding of Koprivnica by creating a real landmark.

The building faces a suburban zone at the end of some ambitious building projects. The point of contact of these two worlds is radically divided into two parts, black and green, full and empty. The new building complex is situated between these two extremes. A mixed program includes a sports hall and a high school. The spatial and visual overlapping of the facilities constitutes the basic operative logic underlying the building. A spacious internal "street" organizes and connects all the program elements. The compact and enigmatic volume covered with a polycarbonate skin contrasts with the vast flat environment. The architectural choice is a radical break with the local modernist tradition in building sports and school complexes.

From the structural point of view the building is in reinforced concrete on the ground floor while the upper floors are realized with steel beams. Generally, all the materials are available on the standard building market (anodised aluminium, metal grids and industrial glass) and with no special finishing, as in the case of the floor soffits which have been left unfinished. Because of its relatively high cost, the building is not air-conditioned. Therefore a system of shutters above the sports hall and the ducts through the cantilevered classrooms of the top floor ensure a constant flow of cool air during the summer months. The double polycarbonate skin creates a 'green house effect' in winter. This translucent skin is lit up at night to irradiate and turns the building into a symbolic place for the young people of Koprivnica.

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