During the semester we have been looking at the partially preserved but also dilapidated fortress heritage of the city. Topics included the outskirts of Olomouc, fortresses and powder houses, conservation and current problems in the area, and the landscape in a wider context.
Vít Gregora and Barbora Kurková’s project “Nová Morava pod Olomoucí” focuses on the future shape of the Morava River south of Olomouc, its accessibility and connection to neighbouring villages, the network of cycle paths and hiking trails. They envisage a meandering Morava and propose the extension of floodplain forests, supplemented by small interventions and objects supporting life along the river.
Kristof Krebs has prepared “The Wanderer”, a guide to places on the outskirts of the city. Where we would not look for anything else, there are god’s torments, posadas, solar power plants, monuments, memorials. Kristof’s intention is to awaken enthusiasm for rediscovering lost landscapes.
In her video essay “On the Edge”, Eliška Bártová presents a poetic view of Olomouc’s suburbs/peripheries full of highways and agricultural production, inspiring us to embrace reality in its unique and harsh beauty.
Experimental conservation and speculation over monument protection is the subject of an animation by Barbara Hnyková entitled “Bricks”. The current state of fort fortifications is mapped by Jakub Slamka in his work “In the footsteps of lost forts”, and he sees the future in connecting forts by a cycle path and the inscription of no longer existing forts into the landscape in the form of land art interventions.
Petr Čekal and Eduard Kušnír focus on specific sites in Olomouc. Eduard is looking for an alternative to the proposed development on a lucrative plot of land near the First Peace Gunpowder Storage
in his project “Neředínský fort”. He touches upon the theme of urban wilderness. In his project “Forbidden City”, Petr chooses multiple interventions related to the planned construction of a bypass road in the east of Olomouc. He tackles places and moments that seem to be beyond the resolution of traffic engineering, but are of crucial importance for local residents.
