IMMERSION INTO LONELINESS Wertig / Kopecky Studio 2019 Semester 1 Milana Kasyanova Ekaterina Sinelnikova
CONTENTS BRIEF HISTORICAL CONTEXT FEELINGS SITE PLAN + DIAGRAMS SECTIONS SITE VISUALIZATIONS CIRCULATION + PROGRAMMING GROUND FLOOR PLAN + AXONOMETRY MODEL + MATERIALITY INTERIOR VISUALIZATIONS
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BRIEF 3 4-7 8-9 10-11 12-19 20-23 24-25 26-29 30-31 32-35
THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT WAS TO CREATE A LIVING SANCTUARY FOR ‘THE FORGOTTEN HOLOCAUST’: A PLACE FOR COMMEMORATING THE TRAGEDY AND INTRODUCING HOPE. WE OUGHT TO WORK WITH THE ‘ABSENCE’ - THE HIDDEN FIGURE OF PRESENCE. A MEMORY, A TRACE, A GHOST OF THE EXISTING. USING ARCHITECTURAL FORM, WE NEEDED TO ‘COMPOSE A STORY’ - EXPERIENCE AND DIALOGUE AT THE SCALE OF THE HUMAN BODY AND THE COLLECTIVE - ADDRESSING HISTORY OF THE SITE, CONTENT OF ITS PROGRAM AND MEANING BEHIND ITS MEMORY OUR GROUP DECIDED TO FOCUS ON THE EXPERIENCE OF GRADUAL ABANDONMENT AND DEPERSONALIZATION ROMA PEOPLE WERE PUT THROUGH BY THE COMMUNITIES THEY STRIVED TO BELONG TO. OUR STORY IS ABOUT SOCIAL BETRAYAL, ISOLATION AND IMMERSION INTO LONELINESS.
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HISTORICAL CONTEXT
ON MARCH 2, 1939 (TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE GERMAN OCCUPATION), THE CZECHO-SLOVAK GOVERNMENT ORDERED THAT A CORRECTIONAL FACILITY IN FORM OF LABOR CAMP BE SET UP FOR “PEOPLE AVOIDING WORK AND LIVING OFF CRIME” (LABOR DUTY WAS MANDATORY AT THE TIME). CONSTRUCTION OF THE LABOUR CAMP NEAR THE VILLAGE OF LETY STARTED ON JULY 17. LOCATION WAS PICKED DUE TO THE FACT THAT NEARBY FORESTS OWNED BY THE HOUSE OF SCHWARZENBERG HAD BEEN DESTROYED DURING THE STORM. THE FIRST TWELVE PRISONERS ARRIVED ON JULY 17, 1940. THE CAMP CONSISTED OF SEVERAL WOODEN BARRACKS OF VARIED SIZES SURROUNDED WITH A WOODEN FENCE. IN TOTAL, AROUND 50,000 PEOPLE WENT THROUGH SUCH LABOUR CAMPS DURING THE WAR. AFTER THE CLOSURE OF THE CAMP DUE TO AN EPIDEMIC SURVIVED PRISONERS WERE SENT TO HODONIN OR CAMPS IN PRAGUE AND PARDUBICE. IN 1940 ROMANIS WERE FORBIDDEN FROM TRAVELING. IN 1942 MEASURES ALREADY IN FORCE IN GERMANY WERE APPLIED IN THE PROTECTORATE AS WELL. AS AN IMMEDIATE RESULT, SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE RANKED “ASOCIAL” WERE DEPORTED TO AUSCHWITZ. ON JULY 10, SS-OBERFÜHRER HORST BÖHME, CHIEF OF GERMAN SECURITY POLICE, ORDERED ROMANIS TO BE MOVED INTO TWO CAMPS: LETY FOR ROMANIS FROM BOHEMIA, HODONÍN FOR THOSE FROM MORAVIA. ALL PRE-EXISTING PRISONERS AT LETY WERE RELEASED OR TRANSFERRED, EXCEPT FOR 19 ROMANI ALREADY IMPRISONED. ON OCTOBER 2, 1942 NEW INTERNEES STARTED TO ARRIVE. CAPACITY OF THE CAMP HAS SOON BEEN EXHAUSTED. EVEN THOUGH NEW BUILDINGS WERE CONSTRUCTED, SITE REMAINED OVERCROWDED. SOME INTERNEES WERE ABLE TO AVOID IMPRISONMENT THROUGH BRIBING OFFICIALS IN PRAGUE. PRISONERS WERE LOGGING TREES, BUILDING ROADS AND SERVICING NEIGHBOURING FARMS. FOOD WAS MEAGRE AND THE RATIONS DECREASED OVER THE TIME. DURING WINTER, INTERNEES WERE NOT PROVIDED WITH SUFFICIENT CLOTHING. BRUTALITY ON BEHALF OF THE GUARDS WAS COMMON. TYPHOID EPIDEMIC HAD STARTED IN DECEMBER 1942 AND HAS NOT RECEDED UNTIL THE CAMP WAS CLOSED IN MAY 1943. COMMANDER JANOVSKÝ WAS RECALLED DUE TO INABILITY TO DEAL WITH THE EPIDEMIC AND WAS REPLACED WITH COMMANDER BLAHYNKA. THE FIRST TRANSPORT WITH 94 PEOPLE TO AUSCHWITZ LEFT ON DECEMBER 4, 1942, SECOND WITH 417 PEOPLE FOLLOWED ON MAY 14, 1943. MOST OF THE REMAINING PRISONERS WERE SENT TO THE CAMP IN HODONÍN. DURING THE COURSE OF THE WAR, A TOTAL OF 4,831 ROMANI FROM THE PROTECTORATE WERE SENT TO AUSCHWITZ. FEW SURVIVED. ESTIMATES VARY, BUT WELL OVER 4,000 ROMANI DIED THERE.
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HISTORICAL CONTEXT
1918 - THE CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC BECOMES AN INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATIC STATE, AFTER COLLAPSE OF THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR.
1933 - THE TOTALITARIAN NAZI GOVERNMENT COMES TO POWER IN GERMANY. THEY INTRODUCE SERIES OF LAWS TARGETTING RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES, WHICH GRADUALLY COME INTO ACTION THROUGHOUT THEIR TERRITORIES.
29 SEPTEMBER 1938 - THE MUNICH AGREEMENT GRANTS SUDETENLAND TO GERMANY. MARCH 16, 1939 - THE PROTECTORATE ESTABLISHES OVER BOHEMIA AND MORAVIA. AUGUST 10, 1940 - THE CAMPS IN LETY NEAR PÍSEK (FOR BOHEMIA) AND IN HODONÍN NEAR KUNŠTÁT (FOR MORAVIA) APPEARS. IT OPENS AS ‘LABOR CAMP’, FORCING PRISONERS TO WORK ON A NEARBY HIGHWAY. GRADUALLY IT DEVELOPS INTO AN ‘INTERNMEN
CAMP’ SPECIFICALLY FOR ROMA POP ULATION OF BOHEMIA AND A GATHERING POINT FOR TRANSPORTS TO ‘EXTERMINATION CAMPS’.
DECEMBER 16, 1942 - THE NAZI GOVERNMENT STARTS TRANSPORTATION OF ALL ROMA LIVING IN THE PROTECTORATE TO THE CAMPS IN LETY AND HODONÍN.
1942-1943 - 1.309 PRISONERS ARE KEPT IN LETY. LIVING CONDITIONS ARE VERY POOR; DISEASES, STARVATION AND DEATHS. PRISONERS ARE TRANSMITTED TO AUSCHWITZ AS PART OF THE ‘FINAL SOLUTION’.
AUGUST 2, 1944 - THE REMAINING PRISONERS IN AUSCHWITZ ARE SENT TO THE GAS CHAMBERS. ON THIS EXACT NIGHT: 4.000 MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
1970’S - AN INDUSTRIAL PIG FARM IS BUILT ON THE SITE. 1995 - MEMORIAL TO THE VICTIMS OF LETY BY PAINTER AND SCULPTOR ZDENĚK HŮLA IS INSTALLED NEAR THE CAMP. 2018 - CZECH STATE PURCHASES THE PIG FARM AS A PART OF AN AGREEMENT WITH THE ROMA MUSEUM AND COMMUNITY TO BUILD A PERMANENT MEMORIAL.
2019 - A COMPETITION FOR THE NEW MEMORIAL TAKES PLACE.
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FEELINGS
OUR PROCESS OF ‘COMPOSING A STORY’ STARTED WITH REPRESENTING FEELING THROUGH ARCHITECTURAL FORMS. OUR MAIN FOCUS WAS ON SUCH FEELINGS AS FEAR, EXPOSURE AND LONELINESS. FEAR - A FEELING OF UNCERTAINTY, CONFUSION AND SUPPRESSION. MODEL - A CLAUSTROPHOBIC SPACE WITH FOUR SEMI-CLOSED ENTRANCES AND A LARGE VOLUME SUSPENDED ON THIN ROPES FROM AN OVERWHELMINGLY HIGH CEILING HOVERING JUST A LITTLE OVER THE HEAD LEVEL. CREATES FEELING OF CONSTANT PRESSURE AND INSTABILITY. EXPOSURE - A FEELING OF VULNERABILITY DUE TO POSITION OR SITUATION. LACK OF SHELTER. NEGATIVE EXPOSURE: BEING/ FEELING OBSERVED AND QUESTIONED BY OTHERS, WHICH FORCES SELF-QUESTIONING. MODEL - A STRUCTURE WHICH FORCES CIRCULATION THROUGH BRIGHTLY LIGHTED AND CLAD IN MIRRORS TIGHT CORRIDOR SEPARATED FROM THE MAIN DARK SPACE WITH A GLASS BARRIER. GLASS ALLOWING OBSERVATION FROM THE INSIDE, WHILST BEING OPAQUE IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. LONELINESS - A FEELING OF BEING ON YOUR OWN. ISOLATION, SOLITARINESS, DISCONNECTION. MODEL - A LONG THIN, CLAD IN SOUNDPROOF MATERIALS CORRIDOR EMBEDDED IN A LARGE PUBLIC STAIRCASE WITH THE ONLY OPENING REPRESENTED BY A LINEAR WINDOW RUNNING ALONG BOTH SIDES OF THE ENCLOSURE AT THE LEVEL OF PEOPLE’S FEET. CREATES FEELING OF SEPARATION AND IGNORANCE. PHYSICAL AND SENSUAL DISPOSITION, VERTICAL DISBALANCE.
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SITE PLAN
AREA
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OBJECTS OF VALUE: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
CAMP FOOTPRINT MASS GRAVE EXCAVATION PIETA LAKE ROAD
1. 2. 3.
CREATING A JORNEY CONNECTING TO THE ROAD ADDING PARKING SPACE
ACCESS
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1:1500
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SECTIONS
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1:200
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SECTIONS
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1:200
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SECTIONS
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1:200
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SECTIONS
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1:200
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VISUALIZATIONS
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VISUALIZATIONS
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CIRCULATION + PROGRAMMING
CIRCULATION + PROGRAMMING 0. ROAD 1. PARKING 2. MEMORIAL: JORNEY STARTS 3. MEMORIAL SPACE ‘DARK ROOM’ 4. EXHIBITION SPACE 5. EDUCATION SPACE 6. GATHERING SPACE - NEW PIETA (OUTDOOR)
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4 5 JOURNEY THROUGH THE MEMORIAL STARTS WITH A LONG CONCRETE PATHWAY GRADUALLY LEADING VISITORS DEEPER AND DEEPER UNDERGROUND, MINIMIZING FIRST PHYSICAL AND THEN VISUAL CONNECTION WITH THE SURROUNDING. THICK WALLS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE PATHWAY ARE RISING WITH THE TERRAIN, NARROWING THE VIEW DOWN TO A SINGLE STRIPE OF THE SKY ABOVE. THROUGHOUT THE PATHWAY WALLS FEATURE NAMES OF LETY VICTIMS AND FRAGMENTS OF THEIR STORIES ENGRAVED ON CONCRETE AT THE EYE LEVEL. IN THE END OF THE CONCRETE CORRIDOR THE ENTRANCE TO THE UNDERGROUND MEMORIAL SPACE IS LOCATED. ANOTHER CONCRETE CORRIDOR LEADING OUT FROM THE BUILDING CONTINUES WITH THE TERRAIN AND GRADUALLY LEADS VISITORS BACK TO THE GROUND LEVEL. THIS PATH REESTABLISHES CONNECTION WITH THE SURROUNDING AND SOFTLY DIFFUSES INTO AN OPEN PIETA SPACE, MARKED IN THE TALL GRASS WITH PAVING BLOCKS. THE IDEA BEHIND THIS PIETA ARRANGEMENT IS TO BUILD A SENCE OF TOTAL FREEDOM AND CELEBRATE RECONNECTION WITH THE NEARBY AREA THROUGH ENGAGING WITH THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT – LAKE, FOREST AND FIELD.
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PAVILION PLAN
UNDERGROUND MEMORIAL SPACE IS SEPARATED FROM THE OUTSIDE PATHWAY WITH A CEILING HEIGHT GLASS BARRIER, FULLY REFLECTIVE ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT SEETHROUGH ON THE INSIDE. THIS EFFECT OCCURS BECAUSE OF THE DARK INTERIOR RENDERING OF THE SPACE CONTRASTING LIT PALE GREY CONCRETE FINISH OF THE EXTERIOR. THIS LARGE DARK SPACE REPRESENTS THE NEXT STAGE OF ISOLATION. VISIBILITY IS MINIMIZED DUE TO DARK SEMI-REFLECTIVE FINISHES, LACK OF LIGHTING AND HYPERBOLIC SCALE OF THE ROOM. ON THE FLOOR THERE ARE FOOTPRINTS OF FORMER CAMP STRUCTURES OUTLINED WITH A ROUGHER UNPOLISHED CONCRETE, CREATING TACTILE EXPERIENCE AS OPPOSED TO VISIBLE – THIS AIMS TO BUILD A SENSE OF LOCATION WITHOUT CREATING TOO MUCH EMPHASIS ON STRUCTURE OF THE FORMER CAMP ITSELF. THE EXIT FROM THE MEMORIAL SPACE IS POSITIONED OPPOSITE THE ENTRANCE CREATING A DIMLY LIT PATH GUIDING VISITORS TOWARDS THE FUNCTIONAL MUSEUM SPACES IN THE SECOND PART OF THE UNDERGROUND STRUCTURE.
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1:200
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AXONOMERTY
THE MORE FUNCTIONAL EXHIBITION CENTRE IS ARRANGED ALONG THE SECOND EXTERIOR CORRIDOR. TRIANGULAR SPACE SERVES AS A LOBBY WITH THE MUSEUM RECEPTION. LOBBY IS ADJACENT TO THE CLOACKROOM WITH ONE OF THE ENTRANCES TO THE MAIN EXHIBITION SPACE. CONCEPT BEHIND THE EXHIBITION IS MULTIFUNCTIONALITY: ITS STEEL FRAME STRUCTURES ARE MOVABLE AND CAN BE ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE NEEDS OF THE DISPLAYED CONTENT, WHILST SLIDING GLASS DOORS CAN SEPARATE THE SPACE COMPETELY OR LEAVE IT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. IN THE END OF THE EXHIBITION CENTRE THERE IS A LARGE AUDITORIUM WITH STEPPED SEATING AND A PROJECTOR TO FACILITATE DIFFERENT PUBLIC EVENTS AND SCREENINGS OF THE ARCHIVAL MATERIAL. ALL OF THE TECHNICAL SPACES, INCLUDING TOILETS, STORAGE UNITS, OFFICE AND STUFF SPACES ARE CONNEECTED IN ONE BLOCK SEPARATING EXHIBITION FROM THE AUDITORIUM.
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MATERIALITY
CAST-IN-SITU TEXTURED CONCRETE
TINTED BLACK CONCRETE
BLACK GRANITE
GLASS
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VISUALIZATIONS
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