The School itself already understands architecture a little differently. The vision is neither an iconic nor a minimalist form. The new merges with the old surroundings, conventional and familiar elements shape the old tuning. The project responds to the site of the design, to its colours, styles and sculpture. The three sites chosen for Olomouc lie on the border between the historic core and the 19th century expansion of liberal progress and historicism. They are not homogeneous, their urban context has multiple architectural traces, both refined and trivial, and varying degrees of obsolescence. Each place is assigned a specific program of urban services with a somewhat unusual character.
The first site is the tram depot in Koželušská Street, which has an unusual geometry and two contexts. On the slope there is a large representative palazzi, the Olomouc Museum of Art and Šépka’s extension. Below the slope are low residential blocks, remnants of walls and restrained pre-war architecture. Above the carriage house will be the “Exhibition & Fun” centre, a place of artistic, design and craft creativity, a place of production, information, exhibition, commerce and training.
The second site is the Flora public area in Smetana Sady and its technical facilities. The new landscape project should be based on the historical traces of the park that can be traced on the site. The fairgrounds are being transformed into an “Arts & Crafts” and serve the professional and wider public all year round and on a daily basis outside of festivals, exhibitions and competitions.
The privately owned Homeland as the third site stretches along the Mill Creek arm and Homeland Street. The Shantovka Shopping Gallery can be seen through the dense trees on the banks of the creek. The site already has a strong sculpture, a tall silo with a villa on the roof, and a five-story apartment building on Polska Street. A “Health & Wellness” centre is being designed to replace the industrial fragments, combining a doctor’s house with a gym.
