On the other side of the city block’s body evolves an ecosystem that seems to have developed its own set of natural laws. The courtyard. Sometimes inhabited by residents, sometimes by dumpsters, what are we truly looking at when facing the shared space of multiple apartment buildings, an oasis or a wasteland? Unlike the streets, where pedestrians are exposed to sensory overload, those spaces “in between” are shelters to the outside world. The Eixample’s utopian vision for city blocks in Barcelona, the Hofjes’ strict spiritual organisation in Amsterdam, the Mezzogiorno’s intimate openair backrooms offer the possibility of public relations through the active sharing of space.
Prague’s immense multi-stories residences enclose in their formation visibly underused awkward exterior shared spaces.
the apartment block, and with it the forced cohabitation of people in reduced areas. One expression characterises this type of housing:
human flow into the interior courtyards are now despised by the residents. Fear activated the mechanism that closed them and obstructed the bygone valves.
What is their purpose? Are they solely a consequence of the blocks’ design? Are they exclusively the result of the need to bring light into the unlucky apartments that could not face the street?
lack of privacy.
If the residential blocks of Prague once hosted in their intimacy public life, they gradually closed themselves into more private spaces and eventually became segregated uncared for gardens. Gates started appearing, cutting through the already limited land to form some kind of privatised estate.
Or are they a missed opportunity of transformation from design constraints into community enhancing instruments? And if so, why? With the occurrence of industrialisation and urbanisation, the cities’ rapid increase in population could not be supported by the traditional density of housing. Soon came a new type of housing accommodating the newcomers,
Humans that once looked for community are now looking for seclusion. Isolationism. Had the courtyards been designed to propose a public space, they allowed separation. A no man’s land tenants would not approach. So how public are those spaces in the present day?
And what for?
The Praguois courtyards evolved from living spaces to almost transparent, agonising tissues. The constrictor muscles of the block’s body had swallowed the gangrenous pleural cavities. The alleys pumping the
It seems to be more comfortable and secure for the dumpsters placed there. That way, each neighbour will put their trash in their own garden.
The laws of the courtyard became simple: do not trespass your limit, which is given by the gate, which was obviously installed so that you would be freer of use of the courtyard. This law however does not apply to the children of the block, who do not find interest in this kind of limitations. Their social instinct is much stronger than that of adults, who favour spatial segregation. This phenomenon is exposed in Marika Pecháčková’s short movie Vnitroblock (FAMU, 2013, 00:33:41) from an internal point of view: she interviews the residents of her block to understand their view on the alarming situation of decay of their shared space. Some landlords clearly state they prefer to prohibit the access to the courtyard rather than putting down the fences occupying it.
question is the animated short movie Neighbours by Norman McLaren (ONFC,1952, 00:08:06) featuring two neighbours fighting over the possession of a plant located in between their houses. Their argument escalates to the point where it affects the plant so negatively it dies. The extreme desire of possession destroyed the object of lust. I believe the true question is not where courtyards lie between semi-public or semi-private spaces, but rather why they shifted to such exclusive spaces that none of the 200 families facing the courtyard feel allowed to use them.
What we are witnessing is excessive privatisation of the common good. Another work bringing attention to the
“To be continued... Hope in empty spaces” What is an empty space? A corner? An unfunctional river side? A working metro station? But most importantly Wha t w il l h a p pe n i n the e m pt y s pace. . .
The building is divided into t h r ee s u b p a r t s (commercial block, residential block, vertical communication shaft) each following the same scheme : they are built around a t ech n i ca l co r e surrounded by the partitionned rooms / appartments. The inner function of the building is reflected on the facade: the wi n d o w r y t h m varies accordingly.
The tip of the building invites the people travelling the main st re e t , the bakery was designed for clients to easily come and loop back to the tram station
A delicate ivory facade cladded by honed c e ram ic t ile s , which allows breathing of the facade is enhanced by french windows carving small balconies in the external walls. The soft finish of the stone gives an elegant touch to the building and ensures harmony with the multiple pastel colors of the surrounding buildings.
AD 4 — CASA22 — WERTIG+NEUHAUSL STUDIO — SUMMER TERM 2017/2018
“Constrained by the puzzling dead facades I will look into the other side of the city block.” My plot is the corner of a city block: it gives way to two roads which grant it its cu s p i d a t e s h a p e , as does the current, while still allowing my building to be in contact with the inner block: the co u r t y a r d .
Gaia Delepine