Paradise in Ostrava

The seventh year of the Landscape Festival will bring approximately 30 site-specific installations and interventions by many leading architects, landscape architects, and artists into the public space of Ostrava during the summer months. The first of these installations emerged from a student design & build workshop held at the end of April under the leadership of Finnish architect SAMI RINTALA in collaboration with Czech colleagues. 

LECTURES AND WORKSHOP WITH SAMI RINTALA AND IVAN KROUPA 

On Wednesday, April 24, 2019, a lecture was held at the building of Ostrava University featuring architects Sami Rintala and Ivan Kroupa, who introduced their inspiring projects. In the following days (April 24–28), a student design & build workshop took place in Ostrava, from which the first installation of this year's Landscape Festival emerged. Students from UMPRUM (Architecture Studio 2) and VŠB-TUO (Department of Architecture) led by Finnish architect Sami Rintala, architects Ivan Kroupa and Jana Moravcová, landscape architect Pavlína Malíková, and academic sculptor Jakub Gajda collaboratively created a site-specific installation that will remain on-site until the end of July 2019. 

GARDEN SURROUNDED BY WALLS 

The remains of the park behind Tieto Towers is an urban space conceptually graspable. The atmosphere of the place is shaped by buildings from various epochs of Ostrava's history, a disorganized road network, and a multitude of beautiful mature trees. "Given the relatively short time, we decided to use already finished modules to transform this space," commented Sami Rintala on the concept. The working group used construction fencing panels to create a mystification. The inspiration was the idea of creating a paradise, i.e., a place where we are not disturbed by our surroundings, adjacent buildings, where we are directly connected to the sky and cosmic phenomena. "The word paradise means in Old Persian garden surrounded by walls. As the main element, we chose full aluminum fence panels, from which a system of corridors leading to the central space is created. Their interior offers visitors an interesting experience primarily focused on the place itself," says Rintala. A view from above then shows us the complexity of the chosen form. "The spider line dominates and transforms the entire park," adds architect Ivan Kroupa. 

The installation at one point crosses the existing road network, becoming a barrier. It thus highlights the importance of connecting the various areas of Ostrava, one of the main ideas of the Landscape Festival. 

Installation title: Paradise in Ostrava
Location: Park behind Tieto Towers, Ostrava
https://www.google.cz/maps/@49.8303006,18.2766955,113m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en
Workshop duration: April 24–28, 2019
Installation duration: April 27–July 31, 2019
Led by: Sami Rintala, Ivan Kroupa, Pavlína Malíková, Jana Moravcová, Jakub Gajda
Authors: Faculty of Civil Engineering VŠB-TU Ostrava, Department of Architecture: Tomáš Klanica, Věra Kollarcziková, Veronika Prokopová; UMPRUM Prague, Architecture Studio 2: Anna Cisáriková, Viktor Eichler, Mariana Chavíková, Tereza Kalousová, Natálie Najbrtová, Alexander Storek, Adam Šustek, Jakob Hördegård
Organization/production: Landscape Festival 2019
Supported by: EEA grants

IVAN KROUPA ON THE WORKSHOP: 
on Wednesday,    
an urban space conceptually graspable,    
graspable / utilized by the homeless community 

on Thursday,    
open assignments, gradual student radicalization,    
one material, no consumption, recycling, ... 

on Friday,    
the spider line dominates / transforms the park and the system    
“we go inside, we go outside” in various layers of perception,    
mystification from construction fencing panels 

on Saturday,    
vernissage, monumental live music from a homeless keyboardist    
transitioning into sincere raps “it's a paradise, you are paradise, get out, ...”  

LANDSCAPE FESTIVAL OSTRAVA 2019 

Through architectural interventions and artistic installations, exhibitions, debates, and happenings, the festival aims to emphasize the importance of public space and greenery for the city. It seeks out degraded and questionable areas of the city that have the potential to become new centers of cultural and social life. These places are then revitalized, cultivated, and suggested for their future possible development through site-specific installations and happenings. The main theme of this year's festival is the connection of the historical center of Ostrava with the Lower Vitkovice area and the district of Mariánské Hory. Its route is designed to highlight the current barriers in the city while also testing new pedestrian and cycling connections.  

OPENING OF THE LANDSCAPE FESTIVAL 

The opening of the 7th year of the Landscape Festival will take place in the "hidden" amphitheater behind the Ostrava Cultural House in Sady Dr. Milady Horákové. Don’t miss the bands PORTLESS, WWW neurobeat, and PSYCHONAUT! The start of the accompanying program is scheduled for Wednesday, May 29, at 6 PM, with the bands performing on Thursday, May 30, 2019, starting at 5 PM. The festival program will feature exhibitions, happenings, lectures, discussions, workshops, and conferences. The opening of the festival and most events are free for the public.

More at landscape-festival.cz