Home > Magazine > Issues > #35 Sep/Oct 2010 > Cultural centre, Ostrava

Cultural centre, Ostrava

Cultural centre

OSTRAVA (CZ) - Not the building but the public space is the main attraction of Maxwan's plan for this aspiring European Cultural Capital.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the EU's European Capital of Culture (ECoC) programme, and in late March Brussels hosted a conference on the history and future of the phenomenon. One conclusion is in any case clear: since Athens became the first city to hold the title in 1985, the status of Cultural Capital has grown. Although the main objectives of the ECoC programme are stated to be 'highlighting the wealth and diversity of European cultures; promoting mutual understanding between European citizens; encouraging a sense of belonging to the same European family', it is the possibility of putting an often somewhat forgotten and sleepy city back on the map that chiefly motivates city authorities to announce their candidature.

Architecture plays an increasingly important role as an 'engine of urban renewal', or as a marketing instrument. ECoC cities like Porto (2001) and Graz (2003) found themselves in the limelight thanks to the construction of, respectively, the Casa da Musica and the Kunsthaus. The criticisms against such iconic architecture are well known: too expensive, not sustainable, not authentic and of no benefit to the local population. And in recent years cities seem to have grown more cautious about embracing such mega-projects.

At the beginning of this year, Ostrava, a candidate for ECoC 2015, held a competition for the development of the Black Meadow site, a project that is certainly very ambitious (and expensive) in terms of size, but which stands out in that the focus is not so much on buildings as on public space. The winner, announced at the end of June, is the Rotterdam-based firm Maxwan.

The heart of the design is a landscape park, literally designed as a black-paved meadow, around which a series of (new) cultural buildings – concert hall, exhibition hall, school of art – are arranged. The park has a dual role. In the first place it acts as a 'cultural forum' for all manner of planned and unplanned activities for which there is currently little room in the city centre. In addition, the design provides the previously missing link between the city centre and the river. By extending existing streets into the site, and with a gentle downhill slope to the river, Maxwan anchors the plan in its surroundings.

The really attractive thing about this plan is that, while it makes no attempt create a preconceived image by means of the architecture of the buildings or the design of the public space, it still has a distinct identity. The precise programme is as yet unclear; Maxwan was chiefly concerned to produce a spatially varied scheme that would invite a range of different activities. The park comprises a flower garden, a reflecting pool, a sculpture plaza and a series of green 'leisure' mounds.

Whether the plan will in fact be realized depends on the outcome of the Czech selection for ECoC 2015 – as well as Ostrava there is another contender, the city of Plzeň. The decision will be made known in September. The winning city will share the title of European Cultural Capital 2015 with the Belgian city of Mons.