Kranj’s Pilot Project: Adaptive Climate Resilience in a Heritage Context

Implemented within the Interreg Danube – Be Ready project, Kranj's pilot project serves as a model for cooling dense historic environments exposed to urban heat island (UHI) effects. It explores how blue acupuncture can respond to rising temperatures in compact medieval centres where permanent structural interventions are limited or not allowed.

The “Rain Zone” is a cloud-shaped structure made of waterproof wool, equipped with a water vapor distribution system that cools the square during hot summer days. The Rain Zone installation, positioned in the town’s core, functions as a micro-cooling prototype. By night, it transforms into a light installation, adding cultural and visual value to the revitalized public space. Loved by locals, it has quickly become a popular and viral gathering spot, especially among children and youth. Fully temporary, climate-responsive, and reversible, it ensures no physical alteration of the protected public space.

The pilot followed a co-creation and iterative spatial prototyping process, beginning with a comprehensive UHI exposure and vulnerability assessment and continuing through the implementation of a Climate Sandbox methodology to co-design suitable solutions. The process actively involved citizens, youth groups, and vulnerable residents, while maintaining early and continuous coordination with heritage protection authorities to ensure compliance with conservation requirements. In parallel, the city collaborated closely with cultural institutions, the Carnica Institute, and designer Tilen Sepič.

The intervention was tested in situ during a trial period that included microclimate observation and systematic collection of public feedback, ensuring both environmental and social evaluation. This approach treated the historic centre not as a fixed museum environment but as an adaptive urban landscape capable of hosting climate innovation within heritage constraints.

Building on its measurable cooling effects and strong public acceptance, Kranj plans to extend the concept to other locations within the historic core and co-develop Rain Zone 2.0 with local partners beyond the project framework.