Vít Svoboda – Gallery of Contemporary Art and Pavilion of Hippos and Antelopes

Introductory Word
A1: Vít Svoboda - Gallery of Contemporary Art + Pavilion of Hippos and Antelopes
A2: Jakub Klaška - Urban Image
A3: Ida Čapounová - House at the Intersection / Urban Seal
DIaN: Jan Plecháč - Department Store with Furniture

---

3rd year, studio Architecture I.
supervisor: Doc. akad. arch. Jindřich Smetana; teaching assistant: Akad. arch. Pavla Grünerová

assignment: Exhibition space for contemporary art in the context of the Republic Square in Prague (without specifying exact location)
semester work

concept / author's report: Republic Square does not have the character of a square for me, because the open space here is divided into three parts. I wanted to specify this area while also not building on it, so as not to violate the main characteristic of a square (open space).
I cannot precisely define the term contemporary art, however, for its presentation, a nearly sterile space allowing internal variations seems ideal. It should not draw attention to itself, but allow the visitor to focus on the works placed within it.

Proposed solution - To better specify the area of the square, I divided it with a longitudinal mass. I then adapted this shape to its surroundings. It was important to maintain views from the surrounding streets, so that it did not create the impression that the streets end with a wall. In these places and at the church, I cut the shape of the gallery. As a result, the mass was divided into five parts, mutually connected by glazed elements.
Furthermore, I vertically divided the volume into two levels: the lower level allows access from surrounding streets to the square (consisting of entry and exit areas, technical facilities, restrooms, a bookstore, a media library, and smaller gallery spaces); the upper level is dedicated solely to the presentation of art - it can be used as a compact space or can be divided into five differently sized pavilions at points of intersection through which the visitor passes.
The gallery also includes an outdoor publicly accessible exhibition located in the area next to the former customs office.

assignment: Pavilion of Hippos and Antelopes for the Prague Zoo
semester work

concept / author's report: I am personally not convinced about the idea of a zoo and its educational function. Nevertheless, I tried to create a design that would allow the visitor to understand the animal in as natural an environment as possible and at the same time with the least restriction (of course, it is).

Proposed solution - Starting point: If one wishes to see an exotic animal, one must visit a foreign country. I tried to place the visitor in the animal's environment rather than the other way around; and to have the animal viewed from the same level (not as in typical pavilions, where the animal is observed from all angles and levels).
To create a new "land" within the land, I drew inspiration from table mountains formed by the movement of lithospheric plates (I normally do not proceed this way).
I extruded the designated plot of land and designed the landscape within it so that pavilions and facilities connected with breeding could be placed below hills, and the area for exercise was enlarged. The visitor cannot observe the animal from the sides; they must enter the mass they are traversing. They are separated from the animals by a ditch. It is quite possible that the visitor will not even see the animals.

evaluation by Jindřich Smetana: The topic of the semester task was intended as a simple, playful, artistic study. The assignment arose from a real request from the zoo to relocate the pavilion, water areas, and especially the enclosures from the floodplain area to a terrain saddle on the northern edge of the premises. An essential aspect was also the listeners' consideration of the meaning of relocating and exhibiting exotic animals "as if in their natural environment," yet in a metropolitan setting, in a different geographical and climatic zone, and in a different civilizational context.
Outputs from individual projects worthy of attention:

• The animals are not served to the visitor like on a plate. One searches for the animals. It is implied by their behavior whether the visitor finds them in a given place or not. They must wait or move elsewhere!
• Specific locations with a "viewing angle" on the animal's behavior in specific patterns of environment are selected for the visitor - indoors, outdoors, on land, on the surface, underwater, etc.
• However, it is not allowed to observe the animals anytime and from anywhere at all costs.
• Should the visual atmosphere of each zone reflect the country of origin? Does decorative styling make sense even if it is not true?
• Is natural concrete and steel poles inside the pavilions an adequate aesthetic for thick-skinned animals? How do animals perceive the aesthetics of the space?
• Does this aesthetics bring a healthy shyness in humans before the might of the animals?
• Is not a certain shyness of humans towards exotic animals an obligation when they are "exhibited" in the Czech Republic?
• Is it not necessary in a zoo to take away the feeling of superiority that humans show just by manipulating elements like naturalness, exoticness, exhibition, etc.?

The work of Vít Svoboda was selected by the jury as the most remarkable. The area offers animals completely removed from any geographical and local context. In a distinctly defined and artificially installed landscape space, the visitor is only a tolerated guest and remains with the hippos and antelopes as naturally as they feel in such a conceived part of the Czech Republic.