BRNO NEONS - Light garlands in the streets of Brno

The aim of the design is to continue the tradition, to respect it, but to design the lighting with regard to current trends, modern technologies, development, and functionality for future years. The basic expressive element is a simple geometric shape - a line - based on the visual style of the city of Brno. This geometric shape is formally processed by means of a light tube. The light tube element is repeated in the design in all the different options and examples of street lighting - timeless, simple, innovative, visually clean. Emphasis is also placed on the appropriate use of modern technology, such as the use of a suitable light source with respect to ecology, the environment, nature, and the human body. Each of the designed streets in the proposal is thematically designed and will refer to various personalities and facts characteristic of the city of Brno - things that the city has become famous for, that are specific to the city, and that the city itself can be proud of on a domestic as well as global level.

A good, well-presented proposal. The authors make a worthy compromise between a formal reference to the typical (historical) garland and the choice of a cleaner contemporary shaping. The design and its presentation tend to be understated and simply decorative, but the decor is an essential attribute of garland in general and instinctively expected. At the same time, there is little risk in the design in terms of implementation. The portrayal of the city's identity was judged by the political representation on the jury to be the most successful. The authors tell a story with their design that they communicate in an accessible and understandable way.

The garland proposal brings a new complex solution for lighting 5 streets in the center of Brno, using the latest LED technology, enabling the color transformation of entire streets or their individual parts in connection with the commemoration of important anniversaries of the city or state. It is a comprehensive concept of linear lighting elements, flowing through the streets towards the central Liberty Square. The artistic solution develops the potential of visual memory of individual places, tries to make them attractive not only for local residents but also for tourism, and sensitively approaches historical views of important city landmarks.

A well-crafted design, credible, technically contemporary, and well thought out, which can be further developed. Unobtrusive during the day, the authors use minimal technical means, yet sufficiently variable at night. The proposal has great potential, but also the risk of being misunderstood - if it is "not enough". In fact, it works exclusively in a dynamic position, when it makes changes. The line of light alone, without movement, is no longer convincing. Proper programming can surprise and therefore not be frustrating. The prevailing opinion in the political representation was that the proposal would pose an unnecessary challenge in its presentation to the public and in communicating the city's themes through it.

The proposal responds to the need to replace the current garlands from the 1950s. We emphasize timelessness and simplicity. In the context of today's times, we reduce the mass of the existing Brno garlands to the form of modern lighting. Minimizing the mass over the street will create a visually clean space that is already cluttered with light smog, advertisements, banners, and other objects. The simplicity of the form is complemented by a sophisticated technical solution of synchronized animations and dramaturgy that adapts to the time of day, season, or unique events. The concrete motifs of contemporary garlands are replaced by a more abstract form of visualizing the image over the city street.

A timeless design, interesting, contextually connected to Brno by its allusion to functionalism and modernism. The authors respond to the diversity of the streets, using contemporary aesthetics and refined morphology. However, the justification for the placement and choice of curve type is quite weak and actually a bit extra for the presentation of the design. The engineering seems functional, although the vertical fixing in Běhounská Street remains a question mark for the jury and the overall maintenance will be logistically challenging. The technical design is also where the fragility of the proposal lies - for it to work, it must be done perfectly. The jury, across the spectrum, perceived the artistic value of the proposal, but from a political point of view it felt more like an installation of a temporary nature.

The main idea of the project is to refer to the historic gateways as important places that were directly connected to the main streets. With the demolition of the fortifications, the significance of the main streets was dispersed to other streets, yet it is the gates in specific sections of the walls that have significantly shaped the contemporary map of the city center. Decorations and reliefs of historic styles used rhythm and repetition to decorate. The basic arches - whether mounded or broken - can be found countless times in various corners of the historic center. Our design does not seek to historicize imitation, but to bring the principle of repetition into a contemporary visual language. This is represented by the aforementioned subtlety and simplicity. In terms of form, from the beginning, the main idea is to complete the visual impression of the garlands by trying to enclose them precisely in bodies rather than to knock out the supporting skeleton with exposed cables and electronics. Our aim is to work with "objects" that have a clear volume and shape, yet create them in such a way that they give a subtle impression even in daylight and do not disturb the surrounding architecture.

In this proposal, the jury particularly welcomes the conceptual shift between the first and second phases. The jury also appreciated the newly chosen 'oriental' feel like a kind of a joke between the lines, and the proposal, with its distinctive morphology and thematic aestheticization, found favor with the political representation. However, it has a number of problems, particularly in the technical aspects. The laminate is not a well-chosen material (although it is cheaper and better than the original brass), especially in terms of maintenance, and there is no well-displayed detail to convince of the feasibility and dignified aging of the product.