Vladimír Sitta: (NOT ONLY) ABOUT THE CZECH GARDEN

The awarded projects were mainly those that work with modest resources and yet effectively transform a place not only for the owners but, in the case of the especially first and third prizes, also for the wider public. It does not matter that in the case of the winner it was more or less visual. It is, in fact, a reconstruction of an old private garden within a courtyard. Of course, one cannot overlook the ecological aspects, which led to the exclusion of some proposals where the purely visual aspect met the representation criteria but nothing more. The jury also positively assessed those proposals where it was clear that the garden is a reflection of the dialogue between the client and the author of the design. Proposals that were rather a collection of various more or less successful ideas also failed. As a juror, I was also struck by the question of the extent to which cultural intersections occur. The garden used to be a reflection of the culture of origin. I do not particularly like the word globalization, but it is clear that (previously unattainable) mobility leads to inspiration that is no longer osmotic but much more individualistic and cosmopolitan, yet increasingly conformist. Instead of individualization leading to a much greater degree of experimentation and seeking, we find the sharing of mediocrity. In the best case. In the worst case, there is kitsch. I apologize for a bit of generalization, but it seems to me that it no longer matters whether we create our own culture or whether there is some awareness of continuity. Previously, the culture of the individual preceded; today, it serves merely as a key to the previously forbidden comfort zone. The past has lost its authority. From this perspective, the proposal of the Greek architect Doxiadis fully deserved an honorary mention.

The Czech Surprise

For the situation in which the garden has long been situated, the term cultural periphery could be used. The ways in which citizens reacted to centrally planned shortages in the past were natural. Of course, when growing kohlrabi, the ability to perceive space was not cultivated in any way. And today? Not even a short excursion into the suburban clones of larger Czech cities with their heavily botoxed, albeit often vaguely functionalist and evidently expensive individual houses, will convince a curious visitor that garden art has risen above agricultural level here. On the contrary, where there was once cultivation honesty, we now find a space filled with visual, albeit remotely green, clutter. This grotesque cornucopia is offered by every gardening center. In front of a collection of mutilated conifers and unabashed piles of stones, which the owner of a newly painted residential bunker in often psychedelic colors takes pride in, I personally prefer the garden of necessity to which we have been pushed by the lack of central supply... In these vegetable paradises of totality, there was at least a certain order and a sense of repeatability and continuity. In winter, the land rested as if waiting for a decision from man on what garb to dress it in the next season. You will find none of this in most Czech gardens. They are sad witnesses of the funeration of the outdoor environment. I do not want to address here the question of how much this is contributed to, for example, by the awkward placement of the house. But there is something to build on. Why not seek inspiration in the beauty of the Czech landscape, full of the charm of randomness and temporal layering? One thing is certain; the garden is perhaps the best diagnosis of the general visual culture of society.
It is somewhat surprising that both Czech projects performed well in confrontation with the world. The project of Trnka Garden by Eva Wagnerová was awarded by the jury with the second prize for the comprehensiveness of the proposal, for the ability to deal with a small space, and for the successful connection of the house and garden, as well as for seasonal changes and the ability to age without extremely costly maintenance.

On the Absence of Czech Architects...

I believe that all of this should serve as an incentive for the domestic architectural profession. Participation in international architectural competitions is rather the exception. This is especially surprising in the context of complaints about the competitively arid domestic scene and the quality of juries. Yet the prizes abroad are significantly more attractive than in the Czech Republic. It is common to encounter Poles, Russians, and Chinese here. Is the reason laziness, a lack of self-confidence, language barriers, a fear of defeat, or satisfaction with the state of the small Czech scene, something like a one-eyed king among the blind? From my brief involvement at the Faculty of Architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague, I have come to the conviction that it is also a generational problem. The recent success of Karel Loupal, a student of the FA CTU, in the international competition for a new marketplace in Casablanca fills me with optimism. The generation of young architects is beginning to realize that one cannot wait with folded hands in the lap for domestic opportunities. Only by measuring themselves against the best in the world can domestic architecture break out of the vicious circle marked by the functionalism of the 1920s and 1930s. The world will not wait indefinitely until we finally get going.


Results of the Best Private Plots Competition

1st Prize: Mann Landschaftsarchitekten, Germany, Garden Labyrinth
2nd Prize: Eva Wagnerová, Czech Republic, Trnka Garden
3rd Prize: Christine Rottenbacher, Austria, Community Gardens of Unterretzbach
Honorary Mention: Doxiades Greece, Landscapes of Cohabitation
Honorary Mention: 1 : 1 Landscab Denmark, Courtyard Classengarden
Jury: Stig L. Andersson, Denmark, Franziska Bark Hagen, Switzerland, Terese Moller, Chile, Vladimír Sitta, Australia and Czech Republic, Tom Stuart Smith, United Kingdom.

More information about the competition HERE
More information about the competition for the marketplace in Casablanca HERE