At first glance, onlookers may be forgiven for thinking that a flying saucer has landed near the village of Vitanje. Most passersby certainly don’t expect to see a sleek, circular, metallic structure amid the bucolic countryside of Slovenia’s Štajerska region.

The structure houses the Cultural Center of European Space Technologies, better known by its Slovenian acronym, KSEVT. The award-winning, futuristic building was designed jointly by four leading Slovenian architectural offices, but its circular designs are based on drawings from the 1920s.

Those original sketches were created by Herman Potočnik, a Slovenian rocket scientist who had his ancestral roots in Vitanje. Potočnik, who used the pseudonym Noordung, came up with the idea of a circular, rotating space station (much like the one later portrayed in 2001: A Space Odyssey), and pioneered the field of space architecture. The design of the KSEVT building is based on his groundbreaking designs.

The concept of the center was also inspired by Potočnik’s multidisciplinary work. Instead of focusing solely on the science of space, KSEVT also deals with the culture of space exploration. In addition to a permanent exhibit devoted to Potočnik, the center has organized various workshops for artists as well as scientists, and is planning a large-scale exhibit on the history of cinematography and space.

From performances of new age space music to workshops on space-related esthetics, KSEVT’s activities enable visitors to see the history of space exploration from a new perspective. The center is truly a pioneer in its field – and is doing it all from a little-known village that even most Slovenians would have trouble locating on a map.