Henrieta Moravcíková Slovakia // Bratislava Number of proposals: 5
NOMINATIONS
Nomination 1
Nomination 2
Revitalisation of the Public Space of the Centrum Shopping Centre zerozero eristavi@zerozero.sk Reasons: The Prešov housing estate Sídlisko III ranks among the most successfully planned urban conceptions of mass housing realised in the later 20th century in Slovakia. To the north of the estate is a complex of public facilities, the Centrum shopping centre, constructed at the end of the 1970s. This grouping of seven independent, primarily single-storey volumes for individual retail functions, a service block and a public library is grouped around a central open space, essentially a square. All the buildings are linked by a covered walkway, surrounding the square on the west and south sides. Until recently, the urban character of the environment was shaped by a fountain with a small lake, and a sculpted composition of mother and child. The area, however, had long suffered insufficient maintenance and chronic breakdowns of its sole aesthetic focus, the fountain. As a result, the town of Prešov held an architectural competition for addressing this problem. Its winner was the atelier zerozero. Realisation of the public space of Centrum took place only over a decade later and is still somehow under construction. The new square is is a revolutionary revaluation of the space as it was: a new evaluation of the sense of the spatial content hidden beneath the idea of public space. The result is an exacting and radical design, which brings to the space not only freedom of movement, but more importantly freedom of program. The new square could be conveyed through three concepts: topography, geometry and materiality. The original sloping terrain was covered with a new layer of uniform concrete surface, which overcame the irregularities in level through triangulation and tessellation. The new topography of this concrete “carpet” is particularly inspiring for the younger generation, who can find it an ideal site for skateboarding. Additionally, the white concrete fills the space with light and visual modernity, something that the estate paradoxically had always lacked. Another new characteristic trait of the space became the regular grid of planted
The New Synagogue Plural info@plural.sk Reasons: In the liberal atmosphere in the first decades of the 20th century, a great many synagogues were built in present-day Slovakia. The pro-Nazi regime of the Slovak puppet state tried to eliminate these buildings from public consciousness and the urban landscape, and their efforts were often completed under Communist rule in the later part of the century. Fortunately, the synagogue in Žilina had a different fate. Thanks to its exceptional architecture, the work of leading German architect Peter Behrens, it was declared a national cultural monument. Still, even this status did not prevent a series of conversion procedures from the 1950s onward. At the end of the millennium, this impressive synagogue was again returned to the local Jewish community, who then sought a new use for it. By this time, a civic organisation was already operating in Žilina, Truc spherique, which successfully managed the socialcultural centre Stanica-Záriečie. It was here, in this setting of independent culture inside a former rail station, that the initiative emerged to transform the synagogue into an art hall. The project’s main proponents, Marek Adamov, Fedor Blaščák and Martin Jančok, from the outset faced the urgent question of how to create a space for contemporary art within this formally and functionally unique architectonic work. The philosophy of restoration, in which the initiative task was played by Truc spherique, was formulated in parallel with architectural and restoration investigations, which gradually revealed the form of Behrens’s original architecture. No less noteworthy was the ongoing discussion between the architect, the heritage authorities, the building’s owner and other participants, including experts from the international organisation DOCOMOMO, which supervised the entire restoration process. Unquestionably, the most impressive single moment in the gradual uncovering of the building was the opening of the cupola, which revealed to its full extent the imposing quality of the synagogue’s main space. Yet even this was only
trees, in the sense of tessellation in equilateral triangles with edges of 6 m. Through this method, it was possible to add to the square a full 43 new trees. At the same time, this natural element forms a strong argument against the occasional critical voices from estate residents in relation to the new cement surface. Relaxation furnishings in the square are provided by benches under the trees and three simple water-spouts, much appreciated by local children. The solid surface shaded by trees, and during night-time hours illuminated by 43 below-ground lights, is a space for many different cultural or social events, or spontaneous meetings. As is often the case with non-conformist designs, the public greeted the new space with many reservations. Yet the functioning of the square and its impact on the surroundings have now made it clear that in the brief period of its existence, the new design has succeeded in creating in this rather peripheral locality a phenomenon of true urban identity in all its aspects. Bibliography: Martin Zaicek: Revitalisation ofthe Public Space of the Centrum Shopping Centre. In: Slovak Architecture Yearbook 2016/2017. Bratislava, Slovart 2018, pp. 34-39.
the start of a greater process, oscillating between a conventional reconstruction method and the search for a method of accepting the value of the age of different historical accretions. Under the working title “half-white”, the main space was divided by colour into two horizontal sections. The lower part is neutral white, serving as a backdrop for the exhibited artworks. In the upper section, the original colour- scheme of the walls is displayed. Dominating the main space is a cupola, with the restored original motif of a Star of David. It is necessary to emphasise that the method and process of restoration, bringing together actors from a variety of backgrounds (heritage, theory, restoration, lay activism) has no parallel in Slovakia and is inspiring in many ways. Though officially the restoration is now complete, the means through which it was accomplished indicate that it is still a living process open to the future. And in a setting of standard heritage restoration, this is clearly a new phenomenon. Bibliography: Katarína Haberlandová: The New Synagogue. In: Slovak Architecture Yearbook 2016/2017. Bratislava, Slovart 2018, pp. 52-57.
Nomination 3
Nomination 4
Adaptation of the former factory Mlynica GutGut info@gutgut.sk Reasons: The structure of the former factory for production of light building materials, known as Mlynica, is an example of something rare in Slovakia: adaptation of industrial heritage to the needs of contemporary urban life. The building was completed in the 1960s, and after production ceased, it fell into ruin. The unusual potential of the deserted skeleton was discovered several years ago by a private investor, who decided to transform it into a living, attractive address. For this end, he invited the architects from the atelier GutGut, who had a long record of providing a clear, characteristic form for the theme of reconstruction. On one hand, it could seem that the raw concrete skeleton could be occupied by any functional program – however, all of the new functions had to be inserted into the extant structure as a binding frame to ensure it retained its original appearance. At the same time, the individual spaces need to retain their autonomy to allow for their later separate sale. The architects split the building’s interior into several layers of open, semi-open and enclosed spaces. On the ground floor, with its exposed openings for the silos used to store dry building materials, the functions are separated from the remainder of the building, and accessible directly from the street, which ensures its use for holding cultural and social events. At the entrance to the main upper space, intended for offices, the visitor has the chance to experience the original sense of the deserted factory. The architects fully succeeded in preserving the character of the space, and improving and elevating it with their interventions. Occupying an area of 2100 m2, the offices are positioned on several levels, allowing them to assume various forms from open plans to enclosed cells. All spaces, though, are visually connected. Perpendicular to the axis of the open interior spaces are steel girders bridging the enclosed offices, filled with specifically formed glass panels. The mix of functions is completed by six “loft apartments” on the uppermost floor, with a large rooftop terrace looking west for a view of Bratislava. Even after the conversion, the concrete skeleton remains the determining element of the entire structure. Indeed, all the original materials remain exposed. New structural interventions have been realised in wood, glass, or recycled brick. Even though these are highly traditional materials,
Residential Complex Condominium Devín PMArchitekti peter.moravcik@chello.sk Reasons: The environment of a village engulfed by a growing city, with all its contrasts and paradoxes of the confrontation of the domestic and the new, is one of the strongest themes that the public has begun to reflect in the context of architecture and urban planning. Devín, one of the most attractive “village” sections of Bratislava, has been under continuing attack from city newcomers ever since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Local residents, who were affected even more directly by the politics of the previous century than others due to the position directly on the Danube across from the Austrian bank, have long maintained a distance from the pressure of development. Thanks to the political resoluteness of local representatives, large residential complexes or groups have been prevented. Condominium Devín was one of the first apartment projects that the district allowed to be built. It was planned during the economic crisis, yet the architects and investors did not apply traditional cost-cutting measures, reduce the quality of construction or maximise the use of the land. Instead, in the long process of gaining approval, they made several concessions to the local government and the heritage commission, from changing the original design of the buildings from flat roofs to a combination of peaked roofs and flat terraces, up to the colour scheme and the use of exterior materials. The flat site, close to the castle slope, is an unusual topography in the sloping landscape – even more, it presented one of the focal points of social life in the village. For this reason, the authors worked to bring the atmosphere of the village structure, through the fifteen houses of the condominium, into the originally enclosed plot. As in similar projects, they created a generously dimensioned street, creating a new pedestrian connection and turning place for cars, yet also a small square or an area for children to play. Formulation of the street façade also reflects the efforts of the architects to incorporate the varied surroundings into the new structure. The gently undulating and fragmentary figure of the street line is formed from the variation of six types of two-storey freestanding houses. Their composition, mutually touching and briefly retreating, supports the organic character of the structure, while also creating the impression that none of the houses is a repetition of the other. In
they do not cause visual disturbance, but indeed balance the industrial harshness of the reinforcedconcrete skeleton. Ventilation systems, cable routings or even heating pipes are in all spaces left exposed on the open surfaces. In the context of recent construction in Bratislava, the example of Mlynice is of notable importance. The postindustrial areas nearby, which form a total area equivalent to a small city district, are gradually changing their character and are likely to become the home of thousands of new city residents. Shows that this change can occur without yet another loss of Bratislava’s industrial heritage. Bibliography: Martin Zaicek: Mlynica. In: Slovak Architecture Yearbook 2016/2017. Bratislava, Slovart 2018, pp. 58-63.
their application of the concept of consistent mimicry, the architects did not stop at the choice of surfaces or colours. The final rendering of these houses almost seems taken as a sample from the nearby facades and roofs. In direct contact with the architecture, though, the material and colour scheme of the exteriors shows that the authors did not use banal stucco systems, but worked thoroughly with structure and delicacy of shading – more than is evident at first glance. This aspect is a certain refusal of trends or personal exhibition, which is a sympathetic quality of the work. Bibliography: Peter Szalay: Residential Complex Condominium Devín. In: Slovak Architecture Yearbook 2016/2017. Bratislava, Slovart 2018, pp. 100-105.
Nomination 5 Hunting Lodge Pantograph pantograph@pantograph.sk Reasons: In Slovakia, wooden architecture has a special significance, and if it is situated in a natural background, it will certainly awake associations with folkloric and national traditions, along with sentiments of the natural and modest forms of village life. This hunting lodge on the hill of Hubalová near the village of Kuchyňa, however, is not like this, despite meeting all the basic attributes of folk romanticism: instead, it is international, sophisticated and hardly modest from the exterior. True, the archetypal forms and proportions of these three separate pavilions may, from a distance, recall the clusters of traditional village haylofts or barns in the clearings of the Lesser Carpathians – yet from closer up, these “barns” capture the eye with their exceptional architectonic conception and their high level of design and craftsmanship. The pavilion composition of the lodge allows for a “clean” and efficient layout. Two pavilions of V-shaped floor outlines and one simple rectangle create a rational, functional operating unit, circulating from the storage area, pantry and kitchen for hunted game, through the main hunters’ hall or dining room, up to a four-room suite-pavilion with mezzanine. Retractable and sliding window frames and walls give the structure the magic of variability and airiness, likewise supplemented by the Janus-faced division between the impermeable gable of the exterior and the warm comfort of the interior. The effectiveness of the metamorphosing process would, of course, not prove possible without skilled and inventive use of wood. Details of the connections of the massive beams on the façade and roofs, or the impression of the guttersystem into the exterior walls, underscore the delicate unified form of the pavilions. The centre of the star-shaped figure is created by a shared central area with a fire ring, which the architects have called an exterior living room. This space is created through closing the spaces between the pavilions, like a circle of horse-wagons, creating a safe or intimate homelike core. All of these mentioned qualities, as well as the exceptional luxury of the materials and bespoke design, have contributed to the success of Pantograph, crowned with a place on the shortlist of the international Piranesi Award. This seemingly small-scale work, occupying an area of just under 300 m2 also found success in the domestic competition CEZAAR, if