we designed the revitalization of Ľudové square together with our colleagues from Nice architects , although it was not an easy task. We were selected by public procurement and we got very unclear assignments, different demands from citizens, representatives of municipality and mostly we got disproportionately short time for submitting the implementation project for the call of Eurofounds. Originally beautiful assignment, enthusiasm were replaced by stress, meetings with more and less satisfied citizens, discussions whether there will be some space for dogs, sandboxes for children, basketball baskets ... every other week we received different demands, a call for a separate competition on the fountain, which the academic sculptor Martin Lettrich won. We designed and added a fountain to our project... and all of there for a lack of money and time. The project ended by resistance of population, writing the petition and postponing the project. The area of the square remains neglected, the playground, the asphalt surface and the fencing are in emergency, the asphalt on the sidewalks is falling apart, the fountain does not fully work for a long time (it does not splash, it only sadly cries). As a citizen of this quarter, I am daily mourning for this ruin.
From the beginning the project was designed to enrich the space of the neglected square by new ways of its use, which was mostly based on new meeting points and concrete pools in the shape of kidneys, which emerged from the present shape of the park with triangle pavements and rounded corners. The other features included a new children's and multifunctional sports playground with a reconstructed fencing, the creation of a controlled containers' stand (for residents only), shades in the shape of a tripod and Martin Lettrich's new fountain area with ground nozzles, artistic illumination, a sundial and a small stage for meeting and seating. Planting of new trees, new benches, lamps and furniture, new paths of walkways in the places of scattered trails. Making the art composition with pebbles, new surfaces of cultivated lawn, automatic pouring from an existing well, atmospheric lighting of the trees ... the current active park highlighted by the unforgettable epoxy red pavement, which we had to replace at the end by concrete tiles.
These large public areas should be always solved by architectural competitions with clearly defined and population-driven requirements. Then it is necessary to have courageous politicians, who do not get frightened immediately after the first criticism without arguments, courageous ones to advocate common ideas, looking to the future and capable to do things differently. To raise citizens, who can see really nice and functional public spaces not only abroad.
