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Moravian Square Park Revitalization / Consequence forma architors
- area:
22365 square meters
Year:
2022
-
Chief Architect:
Martin Sladek, Janica Siplova
Text description provided by the architect. The park on Moravian Square in Brno has become a new dynamic place, establishing its own poetics of peace and action, in sharp contrast to the constant noise and traffic of the city. The project represents a comprehensive approach aimed at revitalizing public spaces frequented in Brno’s historic center to meet the needs of the 21st century. It incorporates blue-green infrastructure elements, environmental sustainability requirements and biodiversity, co-created communities and inclusivity.
The central area is a distinct and prominent feature that introduces a new public space to Brno – the City Arena. It is a gathering place in the center of the park and features a fountain that creates water mirrors or mist clouds. The arena is defined by a large bench, giving the place a sense of tranquility and forming a hugging ring. Designed specifically for pedestrians, this unique space offers a new concept – shared comfort. The wide bench gives a feeling of freedom where everyone can recline, sit, relax and play. Therefore, it is very lively here. As first light breaks, the arena begins to buzz with activity. The fountain area becomes a stage.
There’s always something to see, always something happening. It’s a combination of movement and serenity on the water. Everyone passing by was busy with their own actions. Water passing through specular reflections enhances each situation. The pattern of the fountains greatly influences the activity in the centre, attracting and encouraging interaction and play. In the summer, as the public space flourishes, it’s packed with children. Adults also enjoy occasional refreshing moments. The location offers relaxation and activities, sunbathing and refreshments, earning it the nickname “Brno Sea”. The central area, with its dynamic energy and poetic calm, is the heart of the design. The rhythm of this place changes with the seasons and even the day.
It was also important to explore the potential of the north and integrate the cafe and children’s playground into the new look of the park. The previously unused area has been completely transformed into an attractive place overlooking the newfound cityscape and St. Thomas Church. The café pavilion serves as an interface between the park and the city, reinforcing the urban character of the originally busy Kolishje Street, which is gradually evolving into an urban boulevard. The café itself and its terrace form a circular shaded promenade under mature trees and create a variety of spaces for relaxation and interaction. It provides amenities for patrons as well as an adjacent children’s playground or its “lecture corner” where small plays, musicals and other events are occasionally hosted. The café is an important source of social and public activity and becomes the focal point of the park.
The café’s partially transparent roof accommodates a tree growing from it. The foundation supports an eight-meter-long oval – the sun, which intersects with the roof of the cafe. Half of the structure is mirrored above the roof plane. The polished steel oval disappears during the day and reappears at sunset with the help of lighting fixtures, subtly completing the central visual axis. The neon word “Budoucnost” (Future) on the cafe’s rusty facade evokes themes of reflection, beginnings and delicate questions relevant to our society, as the facade is made of weathering steel that gradually rusts.
Light-colored gravel beneath the tree canopy casts shimmering shadows, inviting you to stay. The carousel and tables and chairs of different sizes are the focus of children’s attention. Original gameplay elements are inspired by the concept of the city as a café metropolis. White elements of various sizes appear scattered throughout the park. In stark contrast to the bustling environment of the café, the meadows and meadows along the circular promenade instead provide tranquility and shade.
A prominent edge visually connects the park to its surroundings. Strolling through it, one can appreciate each season based on the perennials and bulbs currently in bloom. Flowers, shrubs and trees create protected habitats, shaping an oasis of tranquility and security. The entrance to the park is designed along the observed path. A method using drone imagery to map pristine paths in fresh snow was used. An important route consists of a wide main road, smaller radial connections and a circular promenade, supplemented by grass-covered paths.
Environmental sustainability. Blue-green infrastructure restores water regimes to their original state. These nature-inspired measures maximize stormwater retention within the park, allowing it to penetrate safely into the ground and provide better support for vegetation. On hot days, the park and its surroundings enjoy a good microclimate, which is enhanced by the fountain feature and its cooling mist nozzles. Blue-green infrastructure is a fundamental measure for urbanized areas to adapt to climate change and can solve the problem of flood control and drought relief in the most systematic and effective manner. The park has blue-green infrastructure components that provide ecosystem services to citizens during climate fluctuations.
All paved surfaces are sloped, directing water into a system of gravel swales and gravel ditches. Some of the rainwater is used to irrigate floodplain creek beds, trees in the gravel, or strips along the northern edge of the park. New trees planted in gravel have a structural matrix (gravel rich in biochar and compost) that retains moisture long after rainfall, protecting soil air and distributing nutrients. Additional trees complement the perimeter of the park. Species selection continues existing diversity and adds non-native species that are tolerant to climate change. The crown of the shrub is gradually pruned into a solitary tree.
Larger lawn areas and understory beds receive and absorb moisture extensively due to their deeper gravel profiles. There are three types of lawns: picnic grounds in the central park area; grass and herb communities in semi-shady areas under trees and in hollows; gravel lawns around play structures and seeded joints of granite paving.
A distinctive feature of the park is its edges, which include herbaceous layers, shrubs and trees. This creates a protected and well-defined environmental framework that provides excellent conditions for the development of diverse natural communities. The river bed with model depressions and uplands (mounds and depressions) was inspired by the natural process of cyclic flood biomes (ridges in the Moravian floodplain landscape terrain). Three types of habitats that respect moisture conditions include bottomlands, uplands, and transition zones. Likewise, there is a water-rich bed of grass and ferns near the café.
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