A memory that leaves a mark. SUPERPOWER WALL, in the revitalization of Husův Park, by S K U L L studio
26/02/2022.
[Prague] Czech Republic
metalocus, CARLOS RUBIO
metalocus, CARLOS RUBIO
“Superpower wall” proposal designed by the S K U L L studio is located in the Čakovice district in the city of Prague, in the Czech Republic. The place that now houses the Hussite Revolution Park in Čakovice was historically the location of a former municipality around a lake.
During the era of the First Czechoslovak Republic, the lake was drained and the area turned into a park in which the houses that bordered the original lake were demolished. The remains of the gables of these buildings were still visible until the recent reconstruction that took place in the years 2019-2020.
The project wants to be an urban piece to remember the past. Leaving traces in place and time.
During the era of the First Czechoslovak Republic, the lake was drained and the area turned into a park in which the houses that bordered the original lake were demolished. The remains of the gables of these buildings were still visible until the recent reconstruction that took place in the years 2019-2020.
The project wants to be an urban piece to remember the past. Leaving traces in place and time.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Photography by Bet Orten.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Design by Matěj Hájek.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Design by Matěj Hájek.
Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Design by Matěj Hájek.
Site plan. Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Design by Matěj Hájek.
Elevation. Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Design by Matěj Hájek.
Section. Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Design by Matěj Hájek.
Design. Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Design by Matěj Hájek.
Design. Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Design by Matěj Hájek.
Design. Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Design by Matěj Hájek.
Design. Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Design by Matěj Hájek.
Design. Revitalisation of Husův park in Prague – SUPERPOWER WALL by S K U L L studio. Design by Matěj Hájek.
The author of the park reconstruction was the landscaping studio Land05, led by Martina Forejtová. S K U L L studio directed by Matěj Hájek, was invited to design the perimeter wall on the south edge park. The result is this sculptural-architectural monument: a brick wall entitled "Superpower Wall" equipped with an intelligent nanocoating, which has the ability to break down emissions and therefore clean the surrounding air.
The relief of the brick wall is an abstract metaphor that refers to the old buildings built in this part of Husův Park, recently revitalized by Helena Znamenaná. The wall has protruding ascending and descending volumes and is made of solid dark brick masonry.
The relief of the brick wall is an abstract metaphor that refers to the old buildings built in this part of Husův Park, recently revitalized by Helena Znamenaná. The wall has protruding ascending and descending volumes and is made of solid dark brick masonry.
Description of project by S K U L L studio
The site which is now home to the Hussite revolution park in Čakovice was historically the location of a village green with a lake. During the era of the First Czechoslovak Republic, the lake was drained and the area converted into a park. During the construction adjustments of that time, the houses that had lined the original lake were demolished. The remainders of the roof gables of these buildings were still visible until the recent reconstruction that took place in the years 2019-2020. The author of the reconstruction of the park was the landscaping studio Land05, headed by Martina Forejtová. S K U L L studio was invited to take part in the design of the perimeter wall on the southern edge of the park. The outcome is this sculptural-architectural monument – a brick relief, with a degree of hyperbole entitled Superpower Wall.
The theme of transformation is a fundamental idea of the realisation. After the conversion of the original village green, the contours of the gabled roofs remained inscribed in the perimeter walls of the park. The motif of these diagonal lines, sketches of time, is the basis for the current form of the brick wall – relief, where classic technology of the brick structure is taken to the very edge of practicability. “It’s a memento of what is no longer here, which nevertheless leaves its imprint on the place and time,” describes the author of Superpower Wall, the sculptor Matěj Hájek from S K U L L studio.
In contrast with the traditional construction material, the wall is furnished with a nano-technological transparent coating, which thanks to its photocatalytic properties (without chemicals and waste substances) cleans the surrounding air. The surface of the wall is impregnated with titanium dioxide, which together with UV radiation is capable of liquidating up to several kilograms of harmful substances per year on a surface of 1 m2. The unique technology was developed by Czech scientists from the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry.
“The invisible plays a dual role here. On one hand there’s the nano-technological coating which depends on sunlight in order to function, and on the other is memory, fragments of recollections that exist only in our imagination. What is essential is not what we see, but precisely that which escapes our vision,” adds Hájek.
The brick relief wall is complemented in close proximity by a water feature designed by the XTOPIX studio, the dark surface of which is reminiscent in its colour of the bed of the former lake.
More information
Authors
Collaborators
Client
Municipal District of Prague-Čakovice.
Builder
Realisation.- Brickwork.
Area / Dimensions
Built-up.- 17.8 m².
Park.- 8000 m².
Dimensions.- 39 x 0.45-0.66 x 3,4 m.
Park.- 8000 m².
Dimensions.- 39 x 0.45-0.66 x 3,4 m.
Dates
Design.- 2016 - 2018.
Completion.- 2020.
Completion.- 2020.
Location
Cukrovarská, Ke Stadionu, 196 00 Prague 9 – Čakovice. Czech Republic.
Photography
Matěj Hájek, Bet Orten. Skull
S K U L L studio is a Prague based studio founded in 2020 by photographer Bet Orten & sculptor Matěj Hájek is a laboratory of thoughts, notions, concepts and visions that are turned into matter by objects of any character. Sculptures, playgrounds, water elements, folly architecture or any other space interventions followed by strong images and videos are the bones of the skeleton on who’s top is a smiling S K U L L. Shake your bones!
Matěj Hájek (born 1982, Prague) is a Czech artist and founder member of the Ztohoven collective (2003), working under the pseudonym Otto Horsi. In 2003 he commenced his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and the Veronika Bromová new media studio. He was graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in 2010 (sculpture studio of J. Róna). He is one of the founding members of the Czech artistic and activist group Ztohoven. The activities of the group reach far beyond the local scope and it is therefore strongly established on the international arts scene. Matěj’s work encompasses a wide range of means of expression, from classical sculpting techniques to landscape fine art photography, extending to architectural disciplines. He is also the co-author of several land-art projects that earned him the Czech Architecture Grand Prix in 2012. His creative work is located on the boundary between architecture, sculpture and land art.
Bet Orten’s work oscillates between fashion photography, documentary, portrait and landscape art. Her photographs resemble poetic images or impressions from stories so familiar yet perhaps never written. Bet garnered her experience mostly abroad. She lived in New York where she worked as assistant in the team of the photographer Steven Klein. She graduated from London College of Fashion in the field of fashion photography.
Orten & Hájek combine unusual methods of expressions using both their backgrounds (photography & sculpture). Their work is characterized by unexpected combinations and an underlying symbolism in the chosen motifs. This fascinating mixture of disciplines is the essence and ingredients of all that’s being created in the ``laboratorieS´´ of SKULL studio.
Matěj Hájek (born 1982, Prague) is a Czech artist and founder member of the Ztohoven collective (2003), working under the pseudonym Otto Horsi. In 2003 he commenced his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and the Veronika Bromová new media studio. He was graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in 2010 (sculpture studio of J. Róna). He is one of the founding members of the Czech artistic and activist group Ztohoven. The activities of the group reach far beyond the local scope and it is therefore strongly established on the international arts scene. Matěj’s work encompasses a wide range of means of expression, from classical sculpting techniques to landscape fine art photography, extending to architectural disciplines. He is also the co-author of several land-art projects that earned him the Czech Architecture Grand Prix in 2012. His creative work is located on the boundary between architecture, sculpture and land art.
Bet Orten’s work oscillates between fashion photography, documentary, portrait and landscape art. Her photographs resemble poetic images or impressions from stories so familiar yet perhaps never written. Bet garnered her experience mostly abroad. She lived in New York where she worked as assistant in the team of the photographer Steven Klein. She graduated from London College of Fashion in the field of fashion photography.
Orten & Hájek combine unusual methods of expressions using both their backgrounds (photography & sculpture). Their work is characterized by unexpected combinations and an underlying symbolism in the chosen motifs. This fascinating mixture of disciplines is the essence and ingredients of all that’s being created in the ``laboratorieS´´ of SKULL studio.
Helena Znamenaná
Helena Znamenaná (b.1986) is an Czech architect who works for architecture firm ČKA.
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