<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>Translation</title> </head> <body> <p>Ještěd in a Cage 17 - winning project and audience award</p> </body> </html>

Source
x-fatul

Publisher
Tisková zpráva
28.02.2017 08:50

Adam Kössler - The Buried Church of All Saints
diploma project in the studio: prof. Ing. arch. Zdeněk Fránek / Ing. arch. Dana Raková

The subject of my thesis is the creation of a path – a connection with a place that has disappeared due to mining activities. I propose this connection in the body of the Radovesice dumpsite between its surface and the Church of All Saints, which, as the only undemolished structure of the now non-existent village of Radovesice, was filled in with overburden in 1983 and subsequently buried. In the project, I strive to develop a vision of excavation, stabilization, and subsequent accessibility of the church. The work aims to create a place of touch with our memory – a memento.

Burial of the Church
This event is one of many that occurred in Northern Bohemia, where not only sacred buildings but also entire villages disappeared due to brown coal mining. The mines gradually consumed the landscape, transforming many places into wasteland. One such place was the village of Radovesice with the Church of All Saints buried beneath the immense mass of mining overburden known as the Radovesice dumpsite.

The Place
The Radovesice dumpsite had, until recently, a raw character. Its fan-like structure, determined by the movement of the excavator, bore an industrial mark. However, the North Bohemian mines, which are its owners, decided on a “masking” concept of revitalization, erasing traces. The dumpsite is gradually being covered with topsoil. A landscape is emerging that may one day blend with the surroundings. At the same time, however, an artificial landscape is being created, a place without memory, a place of amnesia. Only the church remains deep underground. Through it, I try to return this memory.

Description of the Path
I walk through a strangely shaped landscape. I feel that something is wrong here; it feels artificial.
I pass a mast. It is slender. A column. Vertical.
Not far from it, I see a cut in the ground. It is a long concrete ramp. It draws me to descend underground. Entrance. Horizontal.
I reach an industrial structure; it resembles a crane. There is an elevator in it. I descend into the underground. I exit the elevator into a cramped space, passing through a narrow opening. My eyes adjust to the dim light. I find myself in a vast space. The facade of the church with a tower appears within it. In front of the church.
I enter the church. A beam of light falls to the ground in the chancel. Touch.

The English translation is powered by AI tool. Switch to Czech to view the original text source.