From May 7th to December 31st, 2026, the Technical Museum of Slovenia in Bistra will host the temporary exhibition “Adria: Retrospective”, which reveals six decades of development in the industrial design of Adria leisure vehicles through a series of original illustrations by author Georg Gedl.

Over more than six decades of the domestic leisure vehicle industry, a variety of caravans and motorhomes were created in Novo mesto. While they always maintained their essential characteristic — providing comfort and freedom — they constantly evolved in terms of shape, materials, and colors. Alongside development engineers, the role of industrial designers became increasingly prominent over the decades, turning technically sophisticated vehicles into user-friendly products. Through the exhibition, we track changes in design, as well as in manufacturing technologies and the shifting tastes of buyers — from the first, pioneering Adria 375, to the latest models that combine thoughtful design with advanced technologies.

A significant turning point in recognizing the importance of industrial design at the Industrija motornih vozil Novo mesto (IMV) company came in 1975. At the invitation of director Jurij Levičnik, Georg Gedl took over the leadership of vehicle design, having previously worked for the German companies Auto Union and BMW. He was involved in the design processes in Novo mesto until 1983, after which he continued his career at TAM in Maribor. Between 1985 and 1995, he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana, and during the 1995–2016 period, he collaborated with Adria Mobil once again as a designer. He has summarized his many years of experience in vehicle design and modeling into a series of illustrations featuring key products of the Adria brand.

Through a series of original illustrations, the exhibition will present selected examples from the more than sixty-year history of the domestic leisure vehicle industry, embodied by the Adria brand. From the early caravans, where the shape was still dictated by development engineers, through Gedl’s designs, to the most modern models manufactured by the Novo mesto factory to this day.

The program is being prepared as part of the exhibition “Blue on White”: The Phenomenon of the Adria Caravan, which is on display in Bistra between October 9th, 2025, and December 31st, 2026.

A Retrospective of Leisure Vehicles …

Over more than six decades of the domestic leisure vehicle industry, a variety of caravans and motorhomes were created in Novo mesto. While they always maintained their essential characteristic — providing comfort and freedom — they constantly evolved in terms of shape, materials, and colors. Alongside development engineers, the role of industrial designers became increasingly prominent over the decades, turning technically sophisticated vehicles into user-friendly products. Through the exhibition, we track changes in design, as well as in manufacturing technologies and the shifting tastes of buyers — from the first, pioneering Adria 375, to the latest models that combine thoughtful design with advanced technologies.

… in Drawings by Georg Gedl

A significant turning point in recognizing the importance of industrial design at the Industrija motornih vozil Novo mesto (IMV) company came in 1975. At the invitation of director Jurij Levičnik, Georg Gedl took over the leadership of vehicle design, having previously worked for the German companies Auto Union and BMW. He was involved in the design processes in Novo mesto until 1983, after which he continued his career at TAM in Maribor. Between 1985 and 1995, he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana, and during the 1995–2016 period, he collaborated with Adria Mobil once again as a designer. He has summarized his many years of experience in vehicle design and modeling into a series of illustrations featuring key products of the Adria brand.