Good Citizens Make Great Cities (2. strana)
Interview on urban development: only satisfied citizens make great cities
www.posiv.cz ǀ 41
ARCHITECTURE
started on site and that you will soon have
a wonderful place for music in the city.
One that is tuned like a musical instrument
from the inside and has a remarkable and
open relationship with the city and the
park.
I also remember with great pleasure the
inspiring time our studio had when we
entered the competition for the art gallery
on the site of the old slaughterhouses in
Ostrava. Although we didn’t win, I really
liked the winning scheme, which I’m
looking forward to visiting when I am next
in Ostrava. Last year this gallery was one
of the five finalists in the very prestigious
Mies van der Rohe Prize for European
architecture, such a great endorsement
for the competitions system and for the
astute choice of that jury. The Mies Prize
is an enormous accolade and I know this
will bring many architects to your city to
experience for themselves the spirit and
quality of that building. It must be a matter
of great pride to people in Ostrava, that
this building in your city is among the very
best in Europe.
Well run competitions are a brilliant way
of finding the most appropriate, ingenious
and sustainable solutions to our cities.
They approach head-on the problems
of our times, by rising above politics and
interest groups to propose a genuinely
independent solution. A solution that
inspires people and communities to
embrace new ideas and which have the
possibility of changing lives.
How does the new Ostrava stadium
differ from the others? What is the
guarantee that we will get the best result
thanks to this competition?
Ostrava is a unique city with great
architectural culture. While you can
never guarantee the outcome of anything
in advance, we have set up a very
robust structure which will get the best
architectural minds focused on the issue
of how to make a brilliant and particular
stadium for Ostrava. One that has fantastic
continuity with the history of football in the
city, and because it is located on the site of
the old FC Baník – that has to be a matter
of huge pride for players and supporters
and football fans of all ages in the city. The
site is well integrated into the fabric of the
city and understands its topography, so
the new stadium won’t be an anonymous
building on the outskirts of the city but one
that feels a part of it. In Dublin, we did the
same thing with our old stadium, which
was much loved, but without many of the
modern features which make watching
the game so enjoyable. It was taken down
and rebuilt. It‘s a singular building with an
understanding of PLACE, and has become
a completely loved part of the city by
people who love football, and also by those
who love a well integrated city. On match
days the whole area is full of excitement
and filled with people walking to the match.
The jury spent time carefully considering
the 30 studios who applied to be included
in the competition. We selected the 10
most interesting, based on their experience
in the field of stadium design and their
approach to placing large and very special
buildings like these in urban settings.
The stadium capacity in Ostrava is 20,000
people and is a perfect scale for the city,
creating a wonderful experience for
people coming to see a game. Having
seen the completed projects of those we
selected, it is clear that the latest thinking in
how people experience a match together
can be greatly enhanced by considering
design as a unifying force. I believe a new
stadium will be an inspiring place not just
for now, but with the spin-off generated in
education, training and team-building, for
the next generation as well.
Not so long ago we faced a pandemic.
Now we are facing all that the war in
Ukraine brings, and the world is dealing
with economic difficulties. There are
many opinions that the city should wait
for more favorable times to make such
investments. What is your opinion?
Yes, the world has become an unimaginably
different place in these few years, and
perhaps that is why it is more important
than ever that the city invests in things that
go beyond the everyday. In a world gone
mad, good communities become safe
and desirable havens. These communities
are founded on shared ideas and shared
experiences. Ostrava, with these new
initiatives, is making space for these positive
situations to be created. Opportunities to
come together as a community, that identify
what ties us together rather than what might
separate us. We are investing in our future
and propose a world where our values
are shared. In all three of the competition
projects Ostrava has made in these years,
it seems to me you are nourishing three
different aspects of life – visual arts,
music and sport. All of these, when well
programmed, have a broad appeal. In
every country, in every city, there is a need
for housing and healthcare, and money has
to be found to provide these as a basis for
our human existence. But without public
facilities it is difficult to create a civil society.
So I would say, we have to do all the normal
things AND the special things –public and
private investment has to be balanced for
the public good – good citizens make great
cities.
Thank you for the interview.
Read the full interview by scanning the
QR code. Interview for POSITIV Business
& Style magazine prepared by Tadeáš
Goryczka as part of the Architecture
Cabinet, an independent project for
architecture, art and design.
Public and private investment
has to be balanced for the
public good – good cizens
make great cies.