Umělý veslařský kanál v Račicích a architektonická skupina LO-TECH

• Artificial Rowing Channel in Račice and the LO-TECH Architect Group00:00:02.881
• 00:00:02.881
• The project was created primarily as a land art.00:00:19.770
• 00:00:19.770
• So we were looking for gravel sand extraction sites00:00:24.040
• 00:00:24.040
• and we needed only to convince the extracting company00:00:28.099
• 00:00:28.099
• to extract in such a way that a rowing channel is created in the process,00:00:32.260
• 00:00:32.260
• which involves some political interventions00:00:36.547
• 00:00:36.547
• one actually needs to make things actually happen.00:00:40.816
• 00:00:40.816
• Anyway, it succeeded and the rowing channel was produced00:00:48.383
• 00:00:48.383
• in the required shape.00:00:52.490
• 00:00:52.490
• In its time, it was the best rowing channel in the world00:00:56.931
• 00:00:56.931
• with parameters that weren’t and maybe still aren’t00:01:00.908
• 00:01:00.908
• matched by any other channel.00:01:05.090
• 00:01:05.090
• We started to design the facilities.00:01:09.283
• 00:01:09.283
• Hundreds of meters of pontoons were to be built there00:01:14.019
• 00:01:14.019
• to serve as starting points and places for announcing the winners.00:01:18.188
• 00:01:18.188
• Therefore, we were looking for an industrial product00:01:25.064
• 00:01:25.064
• that would be able to serve these functions.00:01:29.309
• 00:01:29.309
• We were looking for a shape that would allow the pontoon00:01:33.508
• 00:01:33.508
• to stay on the channel the whole year.00:01:37.616
• 00:01:37.616
• This is a referee tower that floats behind the rowers.00:01:45.442
• 00:01:45.442
• It was supposed to have motors, too, but we didn't include them.00:01:49.838
• 00:01:49.838
• Its function is to oversee from above00:01:54.132
• 00:01:54.132
• whether there has been any mistake during start.00:01:58.312
• 00:01:58.312
• We used there the same pontoon00:02:02.537
• 00:02:02.537
• created by cutting a typified tube into segments00:02:06.605
• 00:02:06.605
• and welding them to the floor made of diamond plate.00:02:10.814
• 00:02:10.814
• The architects did the foundational project of the channel.00:02:20.734
• 00:02:20.734
• Since they had counted on using the floating facility00:02:24.977
• 00:02:24.977
• they have really had it made. I am not sure which company00:02:28.943
• 00:02:28.943
• was commissioned to produce it but I know it came from Bratislava.00:02:32.984
• 00:02:32.984
• The pontoon they produced in such way that the top00:02:36.953
• 00:02:36.953
• was flat, of course, and the bottom was rounded.00:02:41.063
• 00:02:41.063
• Thanks to this shape, we don’t have to be afraid00:02:45.170
• 00:02:45.170
• of breaking the ice in the winter when the water freezes00:02:49.319
• 00:02:49.319
• and for that reason to pull them out because the ice actually pushes them up.00:02:53.336
• 00:02:53.336
• The pontoons are still operational to this very day00:02:57.511
• 00:02:57.511
• and I believe it will remain so for a few more years.00:03:01.693
• 00:03:01.693
• The institutionalization of LO-TECH had two reasons.00:03:31.343
• 00:03:31.343
• First, architect Tomáš Kulík came to our Sportprojekt studio.00:03:38.811
• 00:03:38.811
• I want to mention him since he is not here.00:03:46.789
• 00:03:46.789
• Second, there was a meeting of architects in Spiš, Slovakia.00:03:50.870
• 00:03:50.870
• There we found ourselves among seasoned veterans00:04:04.110
• 00:04:04.110
• of architecture or new tendencies in architecture.00:04:08.706
• 00:04:08.706
• We knew we have to present ourselves self-confidently00:04:12.878
• 00:04:12.878
• – we needed to propose a programme.00:04:16.965
• 00:04:16.965
• It was written by Zbyšek Stýblo, who is right here.00:04:21.555
• 00:04:21.555
• Tomáš Kulík and I were responsible for the design.00:04:25.736
• 00:04:25.736
• We made our business cards using Merkur,00:04:29.777
• 00:04:29.777
• the building kit for children. We also made this cultish book.00:04:33.972
• 00:04:33.972
• And that’s how we presented our designs.00:04:39.541
• 00:04:39.541
• Back then, in 1980, we started to call ourselves LO-TECH.00:04:45.816
• 00:04:45.816
• You started to talk right from the middle00:04:53.732
• 00:04:53.732
• because you haven’t explained what does LO-TECH actually mean.00:04:57.792
• 00:04:57.792
• Why would you choose LO-TECH in a world mesmerized by hi-tech?00:05:01.854
• 00:05:01.854
• It suggests a different approach to technology.00:05:08.301
• 00:05:08.301
• It is quite simple. We cannot say we didn’t like hi-tech.00:05:12.452
• 00:05:12.452
• But we knew very well that what was presented there00:05:20.764
• 00:05:20.764
• could be possibly realized in a case of some very important building project,00:05:24.907
• 00:05:24.907
• but we didn’t believe we would have a chance to take part in it.00:05:29.082
• 00:05:29.082
• Therefore, we were thinking about principles we share00:05:33.428
• 00:05:33.428
• like technical authenticity, inner authenticity.00:05:37.794
• 00:05:37.794
• And on top of that we added something that is usually lacking in hi-tech,00:05:41.791
• 00:05:41.791
• i.e. endurance, the capability to age well.00:05:45.822
• 00:05:45.822
• We believed we can utilize materials architects don’t usually use.00:05:52.809
• 00:05:52.809
• Vítkovice tower silos pose a typical example00:06:01.560
• 00:06:01.560
• when they were still blue and beautiful, and other materials.00:06:05.820
• 00:06:05.820
• Also we quite liked mechanical engineering and its products.00:06:09.946
• 00:06:09.946
• And since hi-tech was already taken00:06:16.701
• 00:06:16.701
• and it didn’t make sense to label ourselves as quasi-hi-tech,00:06:20.931
• 00:06:20.931
• drawing from the fact that hi means high and our expectations are quite low,00:06:25.073
• 00:06:25.073
• so we should be LO-TECH. I believe the peak of hi-tech00:06:29.141
• 00:06:29.141
• was reached in the case of Centre Pompidou00:06:33.336
• 00:06:33.336
• because you need an investor and a project that is compatible with hi-tech.00:06:37.490
• 00:06:37.490
• Built are only the houses someone desires, unfortunately.00:06:50.339
• 00:06:50.339
• As I have already said, we are standing here by the model00:06:54.515
• 00:06:54.515
• of the Račice rowing channel owned today by National Gallery.00:06:58.700
• 00:06:58.700
• There is one more that is a part of permanent exhibition.00:07:02.795
• 00:07:02.795
• Back then, when the Račice channel appeared, it was the first really big presentation00:07:06.773
• 00:07:06.773
• drawing attention to itself by its colorfulness,00:07:10.878
• 00:07:10.878
• materials and inventiveness.00:07:15.350
• 00:07:15.350
• It was presented also at Interarch, the Biennale of Architecture in Sofia.00:07:19.568
• 00:07:19.568
• You have already said this is how it came to be in Sportprojekt studio,00:07:27.847
• 00:07:27.847
• but still, rowing channels and its facilities had been made before and differently.00:07:31.978
• 00:07:31.978
• How did it happen?00:07:38.622
• 00:07:38.622
• We should mention the design committee.00:07:41.852
• 00:07:41.852
• If you had an enlightened boss or investor you could do things00:07:45.859
• 00:07:45.859
• beyond the scope of the Project Management Institution and its committees.00:07:54.285
• 00:07:54.285
• We got a funding because it was obligatory00:08:06.719
• 00:08:06.719
• for an investor to include a budget for an art project00:08:10.981
• 00:08:10.981
• within a given architectonic project.00:08:14.855
• 00:08:14.855
• So this was funded by the obligatory 4% of the whole budget?00:08:21.837
• 00:08:21.837
• I believe so. I am not sure, but it is very probable.00:08:25.815
• 00:08:25.815
• Because I don’t think there is any sculpture in Račice.00:08:29.778
• 00:08:29.778
• At one point, the rowing channel in Račice was one of the best00:08:38.881
• 00:08:38.881
• race tracks in the world if not the best.00:08:42.911
• 00:08:42.911
• It was created because Olympic sports like rowing00:08:49.578
• 00:08:49.578
• and canoeing aren’t usually well funded00:08:53.763
• 00:08:53.763
• even though they usually boast good results.00:08:57.919
• 00:08:57.919
• Until 1989, they were the source of the much needed Olympic points00:09:01.964
• 00:09:01.964
• and that’s why they were bestowed the privilege00:09:06.106
• 00:09:06.106
• when considering the building of a channel00:09:10.204
• 00:09:10.204
• for the purpose of rowing and canoeing in Czechoslovakia.00:09:14.474
• 00:09:14.474
• The project looked so optimistic00:09:18.634
• 00:09:18.634
• that crews were ready to train for the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980.00:09:22.808
• 00:09:22.808
• But in 1980 there was still built only one building00:09:31.546
• 00:09:31.546
• we call crematorium due to its high chimney – it is still in service to this day00:09:35.672
• 00:09:35.672
• – but it still wasn’t possible to train here.00:09:39.972
• 00:09:39.972
• The race track has been christened in 198600:09:44.059
• 00:09:44.059
• by the World Rowing Junior Championship.00:09:48.224
• 00:09:48.224
• And it has been in service from then on.00:09:54.421
• 00:09:54.421
• What makes the channel in Račice exceptional is its return channel.00:09:58.721
• 00:09:58.721
• Rowing and canoeing generally doesn’t go well with waves,00:10:02.771
• 00:10:02.771
• so the motor boats that follow the race return00:10:06.722
• 00:10:06.722
• using this return channel00:10:10.851
• 00:10:10.851
• so that they don’t make unnecessary waves.00:10:14.911
• 00:10:14.911
• The same goes for the "eights" that make considerable waves.00:10:18.843
• 00:10:18.843
• So this return channel has been very important00:10:22.789
• 00:10:22.789
• – it is what made the whole channel internationally significant.00:10:26.954
• 00:10:26.954
• The area of the premises is00:10:30.942
• 00:10:30.942
• 00:10:30.942
• The rowing track is 2000m long,00:10:35.019
• 00:10:35.019
• the canoe tracks range from 200 to 1000m.00:10:39.340
• 00:10:39.340
• The rowers need also finish areas and start areas00:10:45.806
• 00:10:45.806
• which answer for those 350m extra.00:10:49.940
• 00:10:49.940
• The original project claimed the channel’s depth to be 9m,00:10:53.607
• 00:10:53.607
• but the channel is 2.5 to 3m deep, which fulfills all the regulations00:10:57.641
• 00:10:57.641
• as set by The International Rowing Federation (FISA)00:11:01.781
• 00:11:01.781
• and The International Canoe Federation (ICF).00:11:05.842
• 00:11:05.842
• At first, we decided to use these three-quarters cylinders00:11:10.113
• 00:11:10.113
• for the referee points with those beautiful00:11:17.687
• 00:11:17.687
• enameled marks of distance.00:11:21.444
• 00:11:21.444
• There were others too, closer to the water,00:11:27.043
• 00:11:27.043
• but these made it interesting also for the viewers.00:11:31.019
• 00:11:31.019
• And as we used a third of the cylinder for the pontoons00:11:35.100
• 00:11:35.100
• we had to come up with an idea of what to do with the rest.00:11:39.350
• 00:11:39.350
• It was a fiberglass produced somewhere in SVAZARM workshops00:11:43.392
• 00:11:43.392
• (Union for Cooperation with the Army). The shape was chosen to prevent it00:11:47.424
• 00:11:47.424
• from toppling but also because the military look was quite popular back then.00:11:51.389
• 00:11:51.389
• That’s why they have those army can markings on their sides00:11:55.486
• 00:11:55.486
• originating supposedly with Wehrmacht or maybe even in WWI.00:11:59.630
• 00:11:59.630
• These things were also the inspiration for the LO-TECH00:12:07.545
• 00:12:07.545
• that earned it the characteristic crude look.00:12:11.748
• 00:12:11.748
• I would also mention the obsession with first, the building kit look,00:12:21.425
• 00:12:21.425
• and second, the flexibility.00:12:25.706
• 00:12:25.706
• When it looked as if it could be disassembled and relocated00:12:29.900
• 00:12:29.900
• it made us feel as winners.00:12:33.941
• 00:12:33.941
• You came once with this beautiful sentence:00:12:39.556
• 00:12:39.556
• "We do universal one-off solution."00:12:43.716
• 00:12:43.716
• The rowers are used to race towards a referee tower,00:12:46.992
• 00:12:46.992
• where the referees sit stacked vertically on the finish line00:12:51.194
• 00:12:51.194
• and watch the boats crossing it. And it is unimaginable to consider00:12:55.352
• 00:12:55.352
• that a boat should finish the race only after it passed the finish line with its rear end.00:12:59.626
• 00:12:59.626
• I cannot imagine someone would still try hard even after its bow00:13:04.431
• 00:13:04.431
• has already crossed the line. So it must be the bow00:13:08.609
• 00:13:08.609
• marked by the small number which decides when the boat crosses the line.00:13:12.811
• 00:13:12.811
• But because the boats are produced individually,00:13:16.881
• 00:13:16.881
• each and every one of them within their class differs by length.00:13:20.969
• 00:13:20.969
• That is what we were trying to solve with the facility00:13:24.916
• 00:13:24.916
• floating at one place tied by ropes and there was a sliding part00:13:29.087
• 00:13:29.087
• just like in slide ruler that compensated00:13:33.135
• 00:13:33.135
• for the differences between the boats, sometimes it was even two or three meters.00:13:37.338
• 00:13:37.338
• It was set to an average and there was always someone00:13:42.732
• 00:13:42.732
• lying on the pontoon compensating manually for the difference.00:13:46.769
• 00:13:46.769
• The boats needed to be held manually, and I believe that is the case to this day,00:13:50.730
• 00:13:50.730
• because should it be fastened by a sucking disk there would be a danger00:13:54.888
• 00:13:54.888
• of tearing of the rear. So there need to be human hands letting the ship go.00:13:58.944
• 00:13:58.944
• So to take it chronologically, the project was created in 1981,00:14:03.150
• 00:14:03.150
• the championship took place in 198600:14:07.207
• 00:14:07.207
• and in 1989 it was presented in Sofia.00:14:11.424
• 00:14:11.424
• Meanwhile, it entered the history of contemporary Czech architecture00:14:21.549
• 00:14:21.549
• and it is still there.00:14:25.514

Zde se můžete vyjádřit. (*nutné)