In 2021, the 9th year of the Landscape Festival took part in the town of Krnov. The goal of the festival is to show the importance of well-designed public space and urban greenery trough installations, exhibitions, debates, and happenings. Therefore, we designed a simple intervention for public space, that would show the easy options to maximise the area's potential.
Our proposal is focused on the skatepark area. Due to the popularity of the place, the need for the spots to relax is obvious. The first step was to cancel the fence surrounding the area. Demolition of the fence opened the whole area for the support of social safety and inclusion of the different social layers and various sports activities. It immediately created a more accessible and safe area that can breathe. Opening the skatepark brought new opportunities for leisure areas and urban furniture placement. For this purpose, we recycled 2500 old beverage crates, that were sponsored by a local company Kofola. We used them as a repeating module to create urban furniture such as a shaded podium, picnic table near the grill, a pyramid with views, and a wooden mini ramp.
The functions of the installations came as a result of user needs analysis. Local kids were volunteering to help with the construction process, which created a strong connection between them and the proposed elements. The effect that the intervention started gave us valuable information for our next project – the revitalization of the whole area around the skatepark and running track. Let’s go!
Team:
Architects: U / U studio
Client: Town of Krnov
Authors: Jiří Kotal, Martin Hrouda, Jan Maleček, Andrea Nováková
Realization: Krnov citizens, U / U studio
Coordination: Landscape Festival
Material sponsor: Kofola Czechoslovakia
Photographer: Jiří Kotal
Materials Used:
plastic: beverages crates, plastic strip seals
steel: pipe elements, urban furniture, connecting material
pine plyboard: mini ramp surface, seats
wooden beams: mini ramp structure
beverage crates: Kofola Czechoslovakia
