May 15, 2026 | Art & Culture
media partner YUZU
BIG SEE and the RIGHT AMOUNT
words Onur Basturk
Zmago Novak’s Portrait Primoz Korosec
Ahead of BIG SEE Festival 2026, YUZU — an official media partner of the festival — speaks with founder Zmago Novak about excess, relevance and why “measure” may once again become architecture’s most valuable idea.
BIG SEE Festival has never positioned itself merely as an annual gathering. Founded by Zmago Novak, the Slovenia-based platform has gradually evolved into a year-round ecosystem connecting architecture, design and creative culture across South-East Europe and beyond. Through conferences, awards and editorial programmes, BIG SEE approaches architecture not as spectacle, but as a discipline tied to relevance, responsibility and human scale.
Its 2026 edition, taking place in Portorož under the theme “Too much? What is just enough?”, arrives at a moment when architecture is increasingly shaped by questions of excess and visibility. We spoke with Novak about the platform’s evolution, the culture of overproduction surrounding contemporary design, and why “enough” may once again become one of architecture’s most necessary ideas.
MORE THAN A FESTIVAL
BIG SEE has evolved far beyond a festival. Looking back, what transformed it into a year-round ecosystem? And although rooted in Slovenia and Southeast Europe, do you now see the platform operating on a more global scale?
If there was one trigger, it was obviously the pandemic in 2020–21. At that time, when physical contact became nearly impossible for more than a year, we had to move the platform into the digital space. By its nature, digital operates continuously — and social media even more so. Interestingly, alongside strengthening our digital presence, we also expanded across the region once travel became possible again, co-hosting BIG SEE events in places such as Skopje, Istanbul and Podgorica. At the same time, our conferences, award programmes and expos continued to grow, especially now that the architecture and design programmes have merged into one festival. We began a quarter of a century ago as a Slovenian publishing platform and award show. Over time, we expanded steadily across the region, and today, as creative practices themselves have become increasingly international, BIG SEE is growing outward as well.
We aim to remain globally relevant, while recognising that physical contact and regional context still matter deeply. South-East Europe remains our core environment — both culturally and professionally.
AN EXCESS OF ALMOST EVERYTHING
The 2026 theme, “Too much? What is just enough?”, feels both direct and quietly provocative. Do you believe architecture and design are currently facing a problem of excess—or is it more a question of losing direction?
I believe the world as a whole is facing an excess of almost everything. Design and architecture exist within that same condition, while also responding to clients whose expectations are often excessive themselves. There is a very delicate balance between steering a project towards more sustainable and responsible solutions, and being perceived as disconnected from contemporary culture or ambition.
BEYOND VISIBILITY
The BIG SEE Awards emphasise substance over spectacle, and context over scale. In a culture increasingly driven by visibility, how do you see this position resonating with today’s architectural and design landscape?
Thanks for noticing our efforts around substance. Architects and designers live within the same realities as everyone else. We are all experiencing climate change, witnessing the immense energy demands of massive data centres, and trying to understand what the AI revolution may bring within the next decade. We are attempting to keep things in perspective, so that the human scale remains relevant. That idea was embedded in our name from the very beginning: BIG originally stood for Bio-Intelli-Gence — or “gens,” meaning people in Latin. Humanity has evolved anatomically, mentally and socially over tens of thousands of years. It’s striking to consider how quickly that entire framework could transform into something beyond our grasp.
The conference programme deliberately creates moments of friction, pairing different voices to encourage debate rather than consensus. In your view, is what’s missing today more dialogue—or a stronger critical stance?
A productive dialogue is impossible without a critical stance. On the other hand, we should also avoid reaching a point where constant criticism prevents anything from being implemented. A democratic cycle of three to six years feels like a reasonable compromise, allowing enough time for ideas to be tested. The real challenge is finding the balance between being a constructive critic — someone trying to improve things — and becoming purely destructive.
THE ETHICS OF MEASURE
At the core of BIG SEE is the idea of “measure” — finding the right balance. As the platform evolves, how do you personally define the line between what is enough and what is too much?
“Measure” feels like a somewhat forgotten concept today — yet one we urgently need to recover. And yes, it carries a deeply ethical dimension, one that still needs to be understood through the classical idea that knowledge, ethics and aesthetics are all different faces of the same coin. Modernity often presents itself as radically new, but in reality it always remains connected to history, and is quickly absorbed back into it. Perhaps one becomes more aware of this with maturity, but I hope humanity as a whole is beginning to recognise it too.
