LAURUS 2021

With Myself I am wandering through Libeň. Sky without a single cloud. Kids are playing around and shouting to each other. But I´m still going. I know where to hide. I know one calm place right in the middle of all this rush. I see hills with grass growing on them appearing in front of me. I take off my shoes and I´m continuing barefoot. I enjoy the tickling and fresh feeling on my toes. I come over the little hill and lay my head to the grass. Finally, just me and my book to read... The task was to design a place in a public space around the Rokytka river in Libeň in Prague 8, which would offer residents from the surrounding housing estates privacy, a place for work, entertainment and more ... In my proposal, I focus on providing privacy to an individual who is looking for a quiet nest in today's fast-paced world, where he could meditate, read a book, relax, think ... just be alone. I would like to achieve this privacy by modeling the terrain, creating embankments and excavations to create pitches for one or two people. Paths and dents would be covered with low grass. On the contrary, overgrown hills with a high grass mixture would form the right one atmosphere of overgrown meadow and intimacy. I also work with existing trees. I propose two phases of implementation. In the first, I focus on the addition of native trees and polytree species and the problem of invasive species that need to be removed to allow the existing suppressed trees to spread. In the second phase, which should take place after implementation, I propose two options - cutting down the remaining invasive species or keeping the area under close surveillance to prevent them from proliferating.

In the project With Myself, the winning entry in the category "small scale", the jury finds above all an extraordinary consistency between the idea/concept of the design and its presentation. The jury noted the general difficulty of maintaining such solutions. However, in the case of this subtle landscaping intervention, which is not mere decoration but the very essence of the design, it is more of an educational "footnote". The theme of solitude, contemplation and escape into the landscape is a fairly represented aspect in landscape design at present; however, this proposal manages to approach the theme creatively and with sufficient flexibility, and is well argued and clearly presented.

Valley of Silence This bachelor thesis is focused on the Landscape plan of the small scale. The project area is located in the “Valley of Silence” in Březová u Hořovic, that is part of the Křivoklátsko protected landscape area. The main aim of the project was to improve the landscape permeability as a response to the Land-collectivisation in 1960’ and its impact on permeability and diversity of the Czech landscape. An additional project aim was to support the development of local tourism and recreation in the protected landscape area. The water management was improved and led to the support of its ecological sustainability and biodiversity by vegetation elements and landscape modification. New methodologies and theories were applied to the project area. As a final solution, new route of the natural trail “Valley of Silence” with interactive elements was proposed. The concept includes improvement of the water detention in the landscape and design of natural playground elements, that support children’s physical and mental development. Currently, the project aims to attract young people to live in the country side, combatting population growth also spatial growth of the big cities.

The winning project in the "medium scale" category was particularly appreciated by the jury because it is an excellent representative of a well-developed study/design. It sets the bar for projects that represent a solid and responsible approach to their brief, using the available knowledge and following current trends in landscape management. The clear and pleasant presentation made it easy for the judges to navigate the proposal and appreciate all aspects of it from the overall concept to the selected vegetation.

Vinoř promenade A path that brings closer the richness of Vinoř, through small landscape interventions and initiation buildings. Water, vegetation, permeability and points of interest are the four basic building elements of the entire promenade, tpgether with its location forms a green enclave around Vinoř. The four layers that follow each other create a complex system of functional landscape. The main idea of design is to promote local wealth and a landscape that needs to be cared for and treated as a gift. The promenade leads the visitor along watercourses and areas, which are complemented by small buildings. The role of these small interventions is to create a person’s connection to a given place. The main circuit - promenade is complemented by smaller secondary circuits - walking and cycling routes. The design vegetation is in the form of alleys, orchard, residential meadows with mixture of flowers and grasses.

Walking through the landscape (i.e. revitalizing permeability) is another frequently discussed topic in landscape architecture. The jury decided to award the "large scale" category to just such a project because of its very quality and especially because of its clear and instructive presentation. It is thanks to this presentation that the design shows the amount of work that must have taken place in the analytical phase of the design, makes clear conceptual decisions and presents the main ideas and partial interventions in an accessible way, even to a wider audience. Due to the scale of the proposal, he considers the drawing of selected construction details to be superfluous not only for presentation but also for the project, while appreciating the actual placement and conceptual designs of the small buildings in the area, which are subtle and refined.

Future Forest We create a cohesive space that is connected with the Olomouc city. This city in the heart of Moravia can draw from this space and the new space draws from the city, creating a symbiotic relationship that elevates both spaces to a higher level. The structure of the Future Forest and wetlands is connected to the environment of floodplain forests around the Morava River in the north of the city and also to the events that take place in this environment, which adds environmental significance to the urban space. The change in the character of the territory is drastic. A key condition was a sustainable environmental ambience for the urban space, where the Future Forest provides the city with a degree of self-sufficiency in the most important areas of life, such as water and food. Space is a living platform for the transformation of human settlements and their maintenance in the ongoing planetary changes, but also for the transformation of human consciousness in general.

This year's jury decided to look for projects in the category "landscape gesture" on a conceptual, theoretical or experimental level. The winning project impressed the jury with its combination of naivety and boldness in its approach to the territory and its attractive design. The design contains many partial ideas, interventions and elements that should be mentioned frequently in the public space to become a standard. And although the combination of these in the final design is not considered by the jury to be the best solution in the sense of a landscape and urban study, it is a landscape gesture - a valuable basis for discussion among experts and broad public.