Garden City

FA VUT - Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture

Project idea

With the option of moving the main railway station in Brno towards the river, there will be an opportunity to build a lucrative area within walking distance between the historic center and the new railway station. Instead of the old railway station, a park will be created, which will complete the green circuit around the center - the Ring. The tracks leading to the existing station will be removed and a park leading to the river will be created along the viaduct.
      The area is lined on one side by a designed boulevard and bordered on the other by a viaduct. North of my territory lies the historic building of Little America. Today, railways and roads lead through this area. The rest of the territory is fallow and lifeless. An important visual element from this area is the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. On the other hand, the territory in the distance opens up to the river and new parts of the city.
     The urban concept consists in dividing the area into two parts with different character: a rational part adjacent to the lively, noisy boulevard and a loose part lying by the water surface, which gradually loosens to the rest of the water, park and viaduct. These two parts define two semi-public "bays" connected by a tree-lined alley. This creates a square open south to the neighboring park. The whole area is freely permeable and with its urban concept it creates various places with a different character of intimacy. Despite the high degree of permeability, social control works here and the courtyards have the character of semi-private spaces. The height of the building at the boulevard corresponds to the proposed height of the surrounding blocks and decreases towards the water and the viaduct.
     The water element located on the western side of the area tries to insert another pleasant element of public space into the park around the viaduct. In the summer, during hot days, this area will be widely used and will complete the mosaic of parks …… The water element extends to the border of apartment buildings and thus creates interesting living by the water in the city center. Thanks to the pier that connects the two opposite banks, the water is also accessible to other people from the city. On the right bank there is a waterfront with residential stairs and there is a shared space by the water for various activities of the inhabitants.
     Parking is hidden under the platform of the rational part and is sunk half a floor into the terrain. Due to the only partial immersion of the parking, natural daylight is supplied to the space. This effect is further multiplied by trees growing from the ground through circular holes in the platform. This creates a pleasant space for parking, which can be easily changed to another function in the future, assuming declining cars in cities. Additional parking is located along the roads and the boulevard among the trees.

Project description

The design plays with different height levels and interconnections. The area is primarily divided in height into three parts: the lowest, namely the water level, then the ground level and the last highest level of the platform above the parking lot. Furthermore, some buildings are connected by bridges. These bridges sometimes lead to the roof terrace or serve as a shared entrance area for community living. The bridges are a parallel to the viaduct, which passes through the area. Bridges and terraces offer a place for rest and recreation. It mainly serves to meet people and their social confrontation. From the roof terraces is a beautiful view of the historic city center, especially the dominant feature of the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. On the roof terraces there is also the possibility of creating community gardens or conservatories.
     A significant element of the whole design are outdoor adjoining living spaces. Either they are generous loggias, terraces or a balcony that lines the entire apartment. The design tries to extend the living part into the outdoor space as much as possible and connect the interior with the exterior as much as possible.
     An important element of the design are community or shared spaces, which serve both for all residents of the area, and for long-term housing in the form of community shared apartments. Community apartments consist of shared spaces such as a living area, kitchen and terrace and small rooms (studios). Each room has its own bathroom and small kitchen. Shared spaces are generous and offer a variety of uses and activities. On the second floor of a community apartment, there are 3 smaller apartments as another alternative to community housing, where living spaces are minimized to a smaller size. Larger spaces are offered in shared rooms.
     The whole complex of apartment buildings is unified by the same principle of the facade. The façade consists of a combination of wooden cladding and a steel net of cables overgrown with a climbing plant. With this simple solution, the facade reflects the concept of a garden city, where individual apartment buildings merge with the landscape and merge with it. The climbing plant thus offers a pleasant outdoor environment with terraces and loggias, which naturally shade today in the hot summer.
     At the water feature on the west side of the area, there are many nooks for outdoor and recreation. There is direct contact with the water through the waterfront and residential stairs. Two piers lead from the embankment, one of the piers has a more intimate character and ends in the middle of the water element and the other connects the opposite banks and creates a public space on the water surface.

Technical information

Thanks to the simple concept of apartment buildings and small dimensions, the load-bearing walls are brick with a thickness of 450 mm. Ceilings with protruding porches or terraces are designed as monolithic reinforced concrete thickness. 250 mm. Thermal bridges at the cantilever site are solved using Schöck beams.
      The platform above the parking lot is supported by a reinforced concrete skeleton. The span of the columns is 8 x 8.5 m. At the foundations of the apartment buildings on the platform, the dimensions of the girders are multiplied to a height of 600 mm and are intertwined. The thickness of the ceiling structure is increased by a layer of substrate with intense greenery. In the place of the ramp, the ceiling structure is sloping and extends above the terrain of the platform. The foundation structure is solved in the form of a white tub and according to the results of the hydrogeological survey they can be supplemented by piles.
      The railing in the place of balconies, loggias and balconies is solved by means of a steel net made of cable filling, which is overgrown with a climbing plant and therefore also serves for shading.
      The technical equipment of the buildings is located on the ground floor of the buildings. Apartment house VII. it has technical facilities located in the basement, which also serve the surrounding houses (XI, X, IX). Installations are conducted either under the ceiling structure or in installation shafts.
      The roof of most buildings is designed as a green roof, which helps to retain rainwater. The greenery throughout the design is maintained by means of an irrigation system and also by means of rainwater inflows.