offcity_architekti: lecture by Matěj Al-Ali, Petr Dub, and Tomáš Moravec

OFFCITY ARCHITECTS
Matěj al-Ali, Petr Dub, Tomáš Moravec: Path of Courage

Wednesday, January 16, 2013, at 19:00 at Divadlo 29 / Sv. Anežky České 29, Pardubice

The December lecture from the Offcity Architects series presented the issue of urban suburbs from the perspective of social geographers, specifically social geographer Petra Špačková. However, we do not abandon the periphery, which was the central theme of last year's series, as we enter 2013. We continue to develop it so that it will later create a bridge to the so-called brownfields, which are areas within urbanized zones that have lost their original function and are now completely or partially abandoned or minimally utilized.

The presentation of Path of Courage, an artistic project by the authorship trio Matěj Al-Ali, Petr Dub, Tomáš Moravec, unexpectedly connects elegantly to the previous lecture, even if it may not seem so from its title. The Path of Courage aims for artistic capture of modern urbanization of the two satellite villages Psáry and Dolní Jirčany near Prague.



The project's form is based on a fondness for tourist and educational trails. With the help of twelve informational panels placed within the municipal development, the trail describes typical problems of satellite suburbs, with each stop quoting various sources of urbanism theory. Contemporary texts are complemented by historical citations that prove that the issue of suburbanization goes deeper into history. Therefore, the trail leads through the landscape of mechanical reproduction along "roads that connect nothing" without sidewalks, through an insufficient network of shops and services. It attempts to initiate a dialogue between urban reality and the ideal form of a satellite, whose actors should be the residents of the community, as well as architects, urban planners, developers, and political representatives.

The Path of Courage was realized under the auspices of the Center for Central European Architecture (CCEA) as part of the project CULBURB – Cultural Acupuncture Treatment for Suburb. CULBURB monitors the situation and the possible development of contemporary Central European suburbs. Through acupuncture interventions, impacts on suburban areas of Central European metropolises and their residents are realized using minimal resources.

Admission: 50 CZK

Organized by the non-profit organization Terra Madoda in cooperation with Divadlo 29 as part of the project OFFCITY 2013. This project is realized with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the statutory city of Pardubice, and the Foundation for Czech Architecture.