SVOBODY STREET - PEDESTRIAN ZONE CHEB
adress: Třída Svobody, Cheb
investor: Town of Cheb
author: A69 - architects
cooperation: Ing.arch. Lenka Mašková, Ing. Pavel Jahelka
designer: PONTEX s.r.o.
lighting: ELVOST s.r.o.
fire protection: Ing. Petr Boháč
general supplier: ALGON, a.s.
town mobiliar supplier: MM Cité
LED lamps supplier: Ledfield
LED lamps programmer: Zbyněk Krulich
Historiogram font and graphic solution: Dita Krouželová
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Pressenachrichten - Author report - A69 architects
Author report - A69 architects
competition: 09/2000
study worked out in DUR details: 04/2001
DSP: 10/2001
renewed DUR and DSP: 02/2008
DPS: 11/2008
commencement of building: 02.03.2009
finishing stage I: 31.08.2009
considered finishing stage II: 30.06.2010
considered finishing stage III and the whole construction: considered term 30.6. 2011
total construction costs (estimate): 140.000.000,-
As author report accompanying text of the competition project from September 2000 is presented, supplemented with notices illustrating the development and present stage of the project. Author report on the winning artefact for the ending of the pedestrian zone at the top of the square is added.
...the project results from realizing time and place
Time
We are living in the era, in which not only the millenium turns, but mainly the postindustrial period turns into informatic period, where things lose their substance and turn into information, and reality becomes virtuality. We are living in the era of conflict where global values are in opponency to regional, local, etnic subcultural uniqueness values which are becoming more and more valuable.
Town
Cheb is unique for many things. Among Czech towns it represents unmistakable icon of a town with nordic cultur influence contrasting to mediterranean spirit of the most of Czech towns, influenced mainly by Renaissance. Its atributes are slim proportions of substance and roofs, wood-framing and visible colourfulness.
Interference with the town organism should respect this uniqueness, accentuate it and not allow to create post-modern simulacry.
Place
Joining the medieval square with the railway station - technical wonder with strategic meaning in that time is in many towns the most lively memorial of the industrial era. It broke the Baroque town fortification and marked the direction of future development. This way, it is not only joining of two places, but also symbolic joining of two epoques.
The study elaborates part of this join.
Spatially it is a compact corridor clearly defined by street and building line, facades finished by longitudinal moulding supporting its linearity. Rich parterres and numerous oriels, marquises, advertising signs etc. are typical.
Particular sections delimitated by particular block fronts have strict and clear form. Space with certain tension can be seen in the crossroads where the direction changes, construction density is relaxed, wideness dimension is changed.
Place in Time
The main town boulevard is changeable. It changes in course of its lenght, it changes in the time. Representative and patologic places can be found here. During the day it is an ordinary town street where a coked-up prostitute is something highly scandalizing, at night it is dominated by gangland world, prostitution, Romas, and staying there means to get into problems.
Dynamic element is crossing traffic. It reacts reliably on day time, weekday, holiday time, public holidays in Germany etc. by its intensity.
Even etnic changes can be seen as dynamic - Asians, Germans, Romas, Czechs, tourists from various countries. Each of theese groups influences the milieu quality. In a way, it can be called multicultural atmosphere.
Project
... even the way can be aim...
Theme
The way - a concept burdened by mystic and many significations. Way is a kind of story. History was interpreted as a story until recently. However, there is another view of history, interpreting it as lightnings of particular events influencing in some cases historic periods for a long time, without being logical, instead of interpreting it as dialectic succession of logically concuring events.
Even the way of telling the story changes from linear to discontinual. Not particular involutions are important, but relations between people are often more important.
There are more reasons for our decision to solve the street theme discontinuously. One of them is analogy with the trauma of displacement the original inhabitants of Cheb. It is hardly possible to reassume the broken traditions, it is hardly possible not to see the breach in the town life.
Conception
We have decided to tell the street story discontinuously. We can define the particular focuses influencing the neighbouring areas.
The focuses are:
- opening Svobody Street into King George Square where according to documents a sculpture of emperor was situated, correcting the gradient square horizon „infall" in a proper way and continuing the street area with the square optically.
Next focus is the area in front of the department store which belongs to the liveliest places
- Svobody and Májová streets crossroad where the direction breaks and nuance consequential to no more existing coherences rises.
The focuses are defined by pavement, lighting, chosing and ordering the green area and mobiliar.
The focus atmosphere is given by more generous proportions, it inclines to a „square" atmosphere, the benches and mobiliar are in strictly orthogonal ordering.
The pavement is in large scale granite boards traditionally layed in structure with interlaced granite blocks - recycled existing curbs correcting particular areas proportions by their orientation.
Interlaced sections are solved by a way trying to eliminate linearity by all means. The atmosphere is more cabinet-like, calm. Corners with freely placed benches are situated under the trees. Paving from small granite cubes is in line laying orthogonal to streets direction.
The green area is not a classical alley. It is a kind of analogy to inhabitants settling this borderland town, the trees setting is like casual seeding, but in the same way as several post-war generations of Cheb citizhens formed a new social structure, also these trees are a fragrant structure becoming firmer with their growth.
Demogram
The whole solved part is traversed by only line being the most subtile element of the composition, howewer, conceptually the most burdened and the most significant. We called it a demogram and its significance lays not only in its continual course through the designed street, but it also proposes a way to identify the inhabitants with their town. Copper boards from which the line will be composed will bear names of Cheb inhabitants registered in registry in 2000. The demogram will be a picture of Cheb inhabitants in the break of the millenium.
It passes through Svobody Street continuously and gradates in King George Square in the place of former emperor monument into a dominant artefact.
The demogram desing woke interest and promotion and significantly helped to win the competition. At the same time it activated a row of opponents who got backing in the law of personality protection valid since 2001. Publishing first name and surname in combination with the fact that the person was Cheb inhabitant in 2000 would give sufficient information to identify the person, so express accordance of all mentioned would be necessary. In case a person would not agree, the name would have to be erased from the demogram. When preparing the realization several alternatives were considered, e.g. names of donors, names of displaced inhabitants etc. The idea of publishing important dates from history and replace the demogram by a historiogram achieved and is being realized, having abstract connection with the artefact called Gate of History ending its course at the entrance to the square.
Lighting
The way of lighting reflects the need to create changeable atmosphere in particular sections. It uses type bodies with light glinting from diffusive surface giving the lightened area generosity, lighting posts in between will be conciped in contrast to them. Tops of some of the trees and atlants at the corner will be ligtened from below in scenic way from the pavement level for deeper spatial efect.
Atypical lighting posts had to contribute to more intimate atmosphere by not enlighting the space from above as usual, but, inspired by living room lamps, they had to light from the horizon to the pedestrians. Their soft light had to change the street to a large living room for Cheb inhabitants. We considered a linear source behind low situated diffusor. Howewer, in the time before starting the project new LED technology bursted into lighting branch. Inspired by new possibilities being used by many artists so far, we have tried to change the original solution and offer apart from unusual way of lighting the possibility to display news and graphic motives as well. The lamp evolution created a new media which apart from lighting can amuse and inform.
Traffic solution
Traffic solution changed in the course of elaborating particular sections from the living quarters to the pedestrian zone. We observed the idea of nivelity, not defining the sidewalks and carriage-ways in height or material. We focused on the necessary resident traffic and accessibility for firemen and rescuers. Routes considered to lead to particular houses and entrances are free and in the contrary, the remaining areas, defined as non-conflict zones, are marked by firm marks in the pavement. These zones may be hired and used as terraces for enlargement the parterre and to make the street livelier.
ARTEFACT - GATE OF HISTORY
author: Prof. Marian Karel, sculptor
cooperation: Němec Polák s.r.o., A69 - architects
investor: Town of Cheb
volume: 3 Mio CZK
The projected artefact is trying to solve the problem rising when the southern front of the square was broken through. In the 19th century the new boulevard was compositionally „treated" by a solitaire emperor statue creating point of view of the street axis as well as political anti-pole to the symbols of town rights on the square. It was its political content which led to removing the statue and brought the problem of compositional closing absence at the end of the main boulevard which was not solved up today.
Compositional solution
The aim of the view is not visible from the most of Svobody Street course. The lower situated square appears from behind the the terrain break in the last moment. Looking from the square the space southwards is rather disappearing. The sense of designed artefact is to hold the observer´s eye until the moment when the square can be seen in the whole and enter it. That is why it has shape of high dominant able to catch gradually appearing green horizon and the horizon of high roofs and facades. Regarding the symetric nuances seen from the square and from Svobody Street, this dominant is slightly dislocated from the geometric axis and links to the main composition element - the time axis. The artefact is transferred from the square to its boundary because of ideological solution.
Ideological solution
What idea and mission should the compositional element significant for two main town sections have? The design tries to be free of political proclamations which could be reason for its removing in the future. It just tries to claim the fact that medieval Cheb opened itself to the new industrial era in this place. Symbol and reminder of this breaking opening act is the symbol of a gate. The gate between historic epoques is set to the level of the original southern front of the square. As a symbol of a no more existing house. As a passage from one historic epoque to another. And exactly in this point the artefact links to historic line showing the most important dates from the history of Cheb on its course through Svobody Street.
Form and symbology
The artefact operation title is Gate of History. Gate is a universal symbol, a figure obvious and legible even in abstract presentation. Its simple form of superelevated board has two basic positions: open and closed. In the closed position the board is vertical to the breaking axis and closes the view, in one front with the southern square front as a door to a no more existing house. In the open position the board is parallel with the breaking axis and it can be seen as a subtle stela. The board rotates round its axis depending on time.
At midnight it is in the „closed" position. At noon the position is „open" and the side where the first dated written mention about Cheb is demonstrated links it to the historiogram. It becomes its outgoing point and part of it together with lamps of public lighting in the same design. The design and graphic are similar, but in the historiogram the information is firm and static. It is a kind of indelible record in history burnt into metal forever.
Opening and closing the gate offers a ritual of time presenting. Ceremonial opening the gate can symbolize the New Year coming to the heart of Cheb or welcoming significant visitors. Handing the gate key can symbolize passing the office of mayor.
Superelevated proportion has other meanings apart from compositional significance of a view dominant. Its Gothic proportion accentuates the nordic cultural constituency of which Cheb is an icon in the context of Czech Republic. And last but not least, the superelevated door is a kind of anti-pole to the window of St. Nicholas Church closing one of the northern views from the square. In the northern pole the church window is dominating, in the south pole it is the gate in the breaking point into the rational era. Which means, faith on one pole and intellect on another pole.
A69 - architects
study worked out in DUR details: 04/2001
DSP: 10/2001
renewed DUR and DSP: 02/2008
DPS: 11/2008
commencement of building: 02.03.2009
finishing stage I: 31.08.2009
considered finishing stage II: 30.06.2010
considered finishing stage III and the whole construction: considered term 30.6. 2011
total construction costs (estimate): 140.000.000,-
As author report accompanying text of the competition project from September 2000 is presented, supplemented with notices illustrating the development and present stage of the project. Author report on the winning artefact for the ending of the pedestrian zone at the top of the square is added.
...the project results from realizing time and place
Time
We are living in the era, in which not only the millenium turns, but mainly the postindustrial period turns into informatic period, where things lose their substance and turn into information, and reality becomes virtuality. We are living in the era of conflict where global values are in opponency to regional, local, etnic subcultural uniqueness values which are becoming more and more valuable.
Town
Cheb is unique for many things. Among Czech towns it represents unmistakable icon of a town with nordic cultur influence contrasting to mediterranean spirit of the most of Czech towns, influenced mainly by Renaissance. Its atributes are slim proportions of substance and roofs, wood-framing and visible colourfulness.
Interference with the town organism should respect this uniqueness, accentuate it and not allow to create post-modern simulacry.
Place
Joining the medieval square with the railway station - technical wonder with strategic meaning in that time is in many towns the most lively memorial of the industrial era. It broke the Baroque town fortification and marked the direction of future development. This way, it is not only joining of two places, but also symbolic joining of two epoques.
The study elaborates part of this join.
Spatially it is a compact corridor clearly defined by street and building line, facades finished by longitudinal moulding supporting its linearity. Rich parterres and numerous oriels, marquises, advertising signs etc. are typical.
Particular sections delimitated by particular block fronts have strict and clear form. Space with certain tension can be seen in the crossroads where the direction changes, construction density is relaxed, wideness dimension is changed.
Place in Time
The main town boulevard is changeable. It changes in course of its lenght, it changes in the time. Representative and patologic places can be found here. During the day it is an ordinary town street where a coked-up prostitute is something highly scandalizing, at night it is dominated by gangland world, prostitution, Romas, and staying there means to get into problems.
Dynamic element is crossing traffic. It reacts reliably on day time, weekday, holiday time, public holidays in Germany etc. by its intensity.
Even etnic changes can be seen as dynamic - Asians, Germans, Romas, Czechs, tourists from various countries. Each of theese groups influences the milieu quality. In a way, it can be called multicultural atmosphere.
Project
... even the way can be aim...
Theme
The way - a concept burdened by mystic and many significations. Way is a kind of story. History was interpreted as a story until recently. However, there is another view of history, interpreting it as lightnings of particular events influencing in some cases historic periods for a long time, without being logical, instead of interpreting it as dialectic succession of logically concuring events.
Even the way of telling the story changes from linear to discontinual. Not particular involutions are important, but relations between people are often more important.
There are more reasons for our decision to solve the street theme discontinuously. One of them is analogy with the trauma of displacement the original inhabitants of Cheb. It is hardly possible to reassume the broken traditions, it is hardly possible not to see the breach in the town life.
Conception
We have decided to tell the street story discontinuously. We can define the particular focuses influencing the neighbouring areas.
The focuses are:
- opening Svobody Street into King George Square where according to documents a sculpture of emperor was situated, correcting the gradient square horizon „infall" in a proper way and continuing the street area with the square optically.
Next focus is the area in front of the department store which belongs to the liveliest places
- Svobody and Májová streets crossroad where the direction breaks and nuance consequential to no more existing coherences rises.
The focuses are defined by pavement, lighting, chosing and ordering the green area and mobiliar.
The focus atmosphere is given by more generous proportions, it inclines to a „square" atmosphere, the benches and mobiliar are in strictly orthogonal ordering.
The pavement is in large scale granite boards traditionally layed in structure with interlaced granite blocks - recycled existing curbs correcting particular areas proportions by their orientation.
Interlaced sections are solved by a way trying to eliminate linearity by all means. The atmosphere is more cabinet-like, calm. Corners with freely placed benches are situated under the trees. Paving from small granite cubes is in line laying orthogonal to streets direction.
The green area is not a classical alley. It is a kind of analogy to inhabitants settling this borderland town, the trees setting is like casual seeding, but in the same way as several post-war generations of Cheb citizhens formed a new social structure, also these trees are a fragrant structure becoming firmer with their growth.
Demogram
The whole solved part is traversed by only line being the most subtile element of the composition, howewer, conceptually the most burdened and the most significant. We called it a demogram and its significance lays not only in its continual course through the designed street, but it also proposes a way to identify the inhabitants with their town. Copper boards from which the line will be composed will bear names of Cheb inhabitants registered in registry in 2000. The demogram will be a picture of Cheb inhabitants in the break of the millenium.
It passes through Svobody Street continuously and gradates in King George Square in the place of former emperor monument into a dominant artefact.
The demogram desing woke interest and promotion and significantly helped to win the competition. At the same time it activated a row of opponents who got backing in the law of personality protection valid since 2001. Publishing first name and surname in combination with the fact that the person was Cheb inhabitant in 2000 would give sufficient information to identify the person, so express accordance of all mentioned would be necessary. In case a person would not agree, the name would have to be erased from the demogram. When preparing the realization several alternatives were considered, e.g. names of donors, names of displaced inhabitants etc. The idea of publishing important dates from history and replace the demogram by a historiogram achieved and is being realized, having abstract connection with the artefact called Gate of History ending its course at the entrance to the square.
Lighting
The way of lighting reflects the need to create changeable atmosphere in particular sections. It uses type bodies with light glinting from diffusive surface giving the lightened area generosity, lighting posts in between will be conciped in contrast to them. Tops of some of the trees and atlants at the corner will be ligtened from below in scenic way from the pavement level for deeper spatial efect.
Atypical lighting posts had to contribute to more intimate atmosphere by not enlighting the space from above as usual, but, inspired by living room lamps, they had to light from the horizon to the pedestrians. Their soft light had to change the street to a large living room for Cheb inhabitants. We considered a linear source behind low situated diffusor. Howewer, in the time before starting the project new LED technology bursted into lighting branch. Inspired by new possibilities being used by many artists so far, we have tried to change the original solution and offer apart from unusual way of lighting the possibility to display news and graphic motives as well. The lamp evolution created a new media which apart from lighting can amuse and inform.
Traffic solution
Traffic solution changed in the course of elaborating particular sections from the living quarters to the pedestrian zone. We observed the idea of nivelity, not defining the sidewalks and carriage-ways in height or material. We focused on the necessary resident traffic and accessibility for firemen and rescuers. Routes considered to lead to particular houses and entrances are free and in the contrary, the remaining areas, defined as non-conflict zones, are marked by firm marks in the pavement. These zones may be hired and used as terraces for enlargement the parterre and to make the street livelier.
ARTEFACT - GATE OF HISTORY
author: Prof. Marian Karel, sculptor
cooperation: Němec Polák s.r.o., A69 - architects
investor: Town of Cheb
volume: 3 Mio CZK
The projected artefact is trying to solve the problem rising when the southern front of the square was broken through. In the 19th century the new boulevard was compositionally „treated" by a solitaire emperor statue creating point of view of the street axis as well as political anti-pole to the symbols of town rights on the square. It was its political content which led to removing the statue and brought the problem of compositional closing absence at the end of the main boulevard which was not solved up today.
Compositional solution
The aim of the view is not visible from the most of Svobody Street course. The lower situated square appears from behind the the terrain break in the last moment. Looking from the square the space southwards is rather disappearing. The sense of designed artefact is to hold the observer´s eye until the moment when the square can be seen in the whole and enter it. That is why it has shape of high dominant able to catch gradually appearing green horizon and the horizon of high roofs and facades. Regarding the symetric nuances seen from the square and from Svobody Street, this dominant is slightly dislocated from the geometric axis and links to the main composition element - the time axis. The artefact is transferred from the square to its boundary because of ideological solution.
Ideological solution
What idea and mission should the compositional element significant for two main town sections have? The design tries to be free of political proclamations which could be reason for its removing in the future. It just tries to claim the fact that medieval Cheb opened itself to the new industrial era in this place. Symbol and reminder of this breaking opening act is the symbol of a gate. The gate between historic epoques is set to the level of the original southern front of the square. As a symbol of a no more existing house. As a passage from one historic epoque to another. And exactly in this point the artefact links to historic line showing the most important dates from the history of Cheb on its course through Svobody Street.
Form and symbology
The artefact operation title is Gate of History. Gate is a universal symbol, a figure obvious and legible even in abstract presentation. Its simple form of superelevated board has two basic positions: open and closed. In the closed position the board is vertical to the breaking axis and closes the view, in one front with the southern square front as a door to a no more existing house. In the open position the board is parallel with the breaking axis and it can be seen as a subtle stela. The board rotates round its axis depending on time.
At midnight it is in the „closed" position. At noon the position is „open" and the side where the first dated written mention about Cheb is demonstrated links it to the historiogram. It becomes its outgoing point and part of it together with lamps of public lighting in the same design. The design and graphic are similar, but in the historiogram the information is firm and static. It is a kind of indelible record in history burnt into metal forever.
Opening and closing the gate offers a ritual of time presenting. Ceremonial opening the gate can symbolize the New Year coming to the heart of Cheb or welcoming significant visitors. Handing the gate key can symbolize passing the office of mayor.
Superelevated proportion has other meanings apart from compositional significance of a view dominant. Its Gothic proportion accentuates the nordic cultural constituency of which Cheb is an icon in the context of Czech Republic. And last but not least, the superelevated door is a kind of anti-pole to the window of St. Nicholas Church closing one of the northern views from the square. In the northern pole the church window is dominating, in the south pole it is the gate in the breaking point into the rational era. Which means, faith on one pole and intellect on another pole.
A69 - architects