Architecture of Meetings
Ústí nad Labem and the village of Manešovice on the architecture map
Students of the Liberec School of Architecture initiated and realized a small architecture project in the village square and city park during the summer semester of 2013 under the guidance of a1architects. By their own intervention, they improved publicly used places, which they deliberately selected due to their unsatisfactory condition and in dialogue with local residents.
Architecture can create unique places that serve as the backdrop of our lives. It can offer new possibilities and initiate communication among people, possessing an amazing ability to influence the quality of the environment. On the other hand, it often has opposite effects, creating unwanted barriers, isolating, or dividing society, and can evoke misunderstandings...
Two teams, each composed of six students, spent the entire summer semester exploring the phenomenon of people meeting and the environments that encourage such interactions, and vice versa. The debates included specific places and dialogues with their residents, as well as discussions with state administration. The conclusion of the semester was dedicated to workshops held in Ústí nad Labem in the Střekov district and in the village square of Manešovice in South Bohemia. Each location required a unique approach regarding the context of life in the city and the village and the associated themes.
In collaboration with local active civic associations and residents, the project of a so-called window gallery was created, which builds upon the existing operation of the Buňka gallery in the now deteriorating "unimobuňka" structure, after which it is named. The aim of the Ústí window gallery is to connect exhibitions and artists directly with the public space in the middle of the city park in front of the regional court in Střekov. Thanks in part to its long-sought location, Buňka became part of the photographic coverage of reports from the recent floods that affected Střekov. The opening of the first exhibition was scheduled for June 3, 2013, during a time of great fears and the evacuation of Střekov residents. The authors, in collaboration with visual artist Richard Loskot, swiftly responded, and the first installation in the gallery features characteristic sandbags weighing down the Buňka against the rising water level of the Elbe. Fortunately, the swollen river ultimately spared the new gallery, stopping just a few centimeters from it.
The wooden structure of the gallery was built by the students in 14 days. The black prism, clad in charred spruce boards that have a beautiful black sheen protecting the building from weather, opens up with large-format glazing into a pure white gallery. Daylight filtering through the roof skylight ensures the gallery operates without the need for electrical connections. The view into the gallery is oriented towards the park path leading from the trolleybus stop towards the Činoherní studio. At the edge of the path, the gallery begins with a seated "windbreak," which functions as a bench, roof, and small stage, while the side walls serve as shading for the glass against reflections from the sun’s rays that could diminish visibility. During openings or just while waiting for public transport, it is possible to sit comfortably at the edge of the Buňka right next to current art...
The residents of Ústí and the local art scene can thus enjoy a new (freshwater) black pearl in the public space!
The seemingly simple task of modifying the existing bus stop in the middle of the square of a small village can be a challenge for architects on how to transform community life in a village. Manešovice has around 50 inhabitants, so their square has a nearly semi-private character, where everyone knows what’s happening or has their own key to the bus stop. Neighborly relationships, both good and bad, directly shape events in the village.
During the semester, a group of students observed the activities taking place here and found that the bus stop is not just a transportation structure, but also a place for shopping at a mobile sales point or a pick-up location for lunch, and lastly, it serves as an informational point with a bulletin board for the municipal office and cultural events in the area. All of this functioned against the backdrop of an old and somewhat sad-looking brizolite bus stop from the 1980s.
The project to modify the existing structure aims to connect, highlight, and enhance all the mentioned activities with new possibilities. In addition to the reconstruction of the roof and repainting of the old bus stop, students built a large wooden platform at the edge of the road around the stop and two adjacent linden trees. The terrace integrates seating at a table with a view of the Manešovice pond. The stop received a white color with a blue detail of roller patterns that the students intentionally used on the facade instead of the interior. Inside, the stop is blue with a wooden frame of a new vegetation roof, which is simply constructed using plastic crates filled with plants.
Throughout the construction, most residents not only from Manešovice but also from the surrounding areas got involved; some brought lunch or cakes, while others helped with an excavator or masonry tools. Even during the build, new meetings occurred, reviving the small South Bohemian village.
For the handover of the stop, locals organized a large communal celebration with the students at the end of June, which will be remembered in Manešovice for a long time.
Architecture can create unique places that serve as the backdrop of our lives. It can offer new possibilities and initiate communication among people, possessing an amazing ability to influence the quality of the environment. On the other hand, it often has opposite effects, creating unwanted barriers, isolating, or dividing society, and can evoke misunderstandings...
Two teams, each composed of six students, spent the entire summer semester exploring the phenomenon of people meeting and the environments that encourage such interactions, and vice versa. The debates included specific places and dialogues with their residents, as well as discussions with state administration. The conclusion of the semester was dedicated to workshops held in Ústí nad Labem in the Střekov district and in the village square of Manešovice in South Bohemia. Each location required a unique approach regarding the context of life in the city and the village and the associated themes.
Gallery Buňka in Ústí nad Labem
In collaboration with local active civic associations and residents, the project of a so-called window gallery was created, which builds upon the existing operation of the Buňka gallery in the now deteriorating "unimobuňka" structure, after which it is named. The aim of the Ústí window gallery is to connect exhibitions and artists directly with the public space in the middle of the city park in front of the regional court in Střekov. Thanks in part to its long-sought location, Buňka became part of the photographic coverage of reports from the recent floods that affected Střekov. The opening of the first exhibition was scheduled for June 3, 2013, during a time of great fears and the evacuation of Střekov residents. The authors, in collaboration with visual artist Richard Loskot, swiftly responded, and the first installation in the gallery features characteristic sandbags weighing down the Buňka against the rising water level of the Elbe. Fortunately, the swollen river ultimately spared the new gallery, stopping just a few centimeters from it.
The wooden structure of the gallery was built by the students in 14 days. The black prism, clad in charred spruce boards that have a beautiful black sheen protecting the building from weather, opens up with large-format glazing into a pure white gallery. Daylight filtering through the roof skylight ensures the gallery operates without the need for electrical connections. The view into the gallery is oriented towards the park path leading from the trolleybus stop towards the Činoherní studio. At the edge of the path, the gallery begins with a seated "windbreak," which functions as a bench, roof, and small stage, while the side walls serve as shading for the glass against reflections from the sun’s rays that could diminish visibility. During openings or just while waiting for public transport, it is possible to sit comfortably at the edge of the Buňka right next to current art...
The residents of Ústí and the local art scene can thus enjoy a new (freshwater) black pearl in the public space!
Manešovice Bus Stop
The seemingly simple task of modifying the existing bus stop in the middle of the square of a small village can be a challenge for architects on how to transform community life in a village. Manešovice has around 50 inhabitants, so their square has a nearly semi-private character, where everyone knows what’s happening or has their own key to the bus stop. Neighborly relationships, both good and bad, directly shape events in the village.
During the semester, a group of students observed the activities taking place here and found that the bus stop is not just a transportation structure, but also a place for shopping at a mobile sales point or a pick-up location for lunch, and lastly, it serves as an informational point with a bulletin board for the municipal office and cultural events in the area. All of this functioned against the backdrop of an old and somewhat sad-looking brizolite bus stop from the 1980s.
The project to modify the existing structure aims to connect, highlight, and enhance all the mentioned activities with new possibilities. In addition to the reconstruction of the roof and repainting of the old bus stop, students built a large wooden platform at the edge of the road around the stop and two adjacent linden trees. The terrace integrates seating at a table with a view of the Manešovice pond. The stop received a white color with a blue detail of roller patterns that the students intentionally used on the facade instead of the interior. Inside, the stop is blue with a wooden frame of a new vegetation roof, which is simply constructed using plastic crates filled with plants.
Throughout the construction, most residents not only from Manešovice but also from the surrounding areas got involved; some brought lunch or cakes, while others helped with an excavator or masonry tools. Even during the build, new meetings occurred, reviving the small South Bohemian village.
For the handover of the stop, locals organized a large communal celebration with the students at the end of June, which will be remembered in Manešovice for a long time.
Project Data
| Author Teams: | |
| Zuzana Sagitariová, Bára Drahotová, Lenka Juchelková, Vojtěch Malina, Kristián Holan, Marek Hudáč | |
| Manešovice: | Eliška Dytrychová, Zuzana Tomková, Dominika Taklová, Šimon Dušek, Ondřej Novák, Alnur Nurmakhanov |
| University: | Technical University of Liberec – Faculty of Architecture |
| Financing: | Largely funded by a grant from the European Union: Architecture Beyond the Centers |
| Date: | Summer semester 2013 |
| Studio Head: | Lenka Křemenová, David Maštálka / a1architects “The best school for architects is direct experience. Both with the people for whom they work and the materials from which they build.” |
| Collaboration: | Vojtěch Bilišič (Manešovice workshop), Petr Rezek and Allan Gintel (consultation) |
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