Reconstruction of the Novomlýn Water Tower
permanent exhibition "The History of Firefighting and Fires in Prague"
Concept of the exhibition: The proposed character of the exhibition is multimedia with prominent elements of audiovisual spatial installations based on an interpretative presentation form. No historical artifacts will be physically placed in the exhibition. The main supporting element of the exhibition content is historical preserved visual materials, which will be presented in electronic form (projections, mapping, etc.) along with partial stories told in individual sections of the installation.
Description of the exhibition: The exhibition will be structurally organized vertically according to the nature of the building itself. The inner core of the tower is vertically divided into six separate high rooms serving as the backbone of the narrative.
1st floor – entrance areas with a ticket office and shop. Main information panel.
2nd floor – The story of the tower – a tall model of the tower installed in the exhibition space complemented by mapping of the building's historical development. The surface of the tower model itself serves as the central display area. Content-wise, it should focus on the technologies of the water tower's operation and the history of the tower itself. The back surface behind the tower serves as an additional projection surface.
3rd floor – Reading room – history of water and fire – installation of research areas with screens (individually or grouped in the middle of the room). These areas will present individual sections of the topic. A common visual denominator for the entire installation will be ensured by AV production.
4th floor – Archive of Prague fires – presented as an archive – individual boxes/screens covering an entire wall of the exhibition space hide the history of significant fires in Prague. Some of them – the most important ones – are "opened" and offer a glimpse inside…
5th floor – the story of fire – the story of the nation – a full-surface immersive projection on the walls of the space supplemented by suggestive sound will refer to fire as essence and cause. The central theme could be the fire of the National Theatre.
6th floor – Belvedere – a view into the past and present. The primary function of the top floor is a viewpoint over Prague and a well-deserved rest after the demanding ascent. It is a calming space after the experience of fire from the National Theatre. The visitor returns to daylight, to reality. Filled with many new insights and stimuli, they deserve a final conclusion closing the theme of fires and water in Prague. We offer them a summary in the form of a concluding film that talks about how society learned from fires, what measures were taken to reduce fires, how the fires themselves changed the organization of the city, etc.
In the middle of the room, a seating area is installed from where visitors can observe Prague just as they watch the concluding recap film.
Around the windows, virtual peepholes are placed – offering views into fictional and/or historical versions of the city and showing Prague as it was, is not, and will not be.
Seating modules may be supplemented with a layer of information about individual fires as a form of accompanying program for children.
STAIRCASE AREA – is left unchanged as the original element of the tower – a zone where we work only with light and sound. Both media guide the visitor up the stairs through individual stops to the top floor of the viewing belvedere. Individual gobo projectors project a light inscription, pictogram, or other graphic motif at each floor… sound is spread throughout the space – e.g., dripping water or another form reminding that we are in the water tower.
Furniture and decoration: The exhibition is conceptually based on electronic forms of presentation. It primarily uses light in various forms (scenographic lighting, projections, mapping, etc.). The installation contains a minimal number of exhibition furniture elements and decorations. Due to the construction of the project in a monumentally protected building, this presentation method appears to be suitable. It requires minimal interventions into the existing structure – most elements will be placed on the floor, or will be suspended from the ceilings of individual rooms. Cable infrastructure will be routed within the furniture or in an exposed manner along the wall surfaces.
The project does not significantly interfere with the staircase area.
The internal atmosphere of the individual sections of the installation will be complemented by a monochrome wall paint in a dark gray shade – only in the interiors of the rooms in the inner core of the tower on the 2nd and 3rd floors.
A suspended false ceiling (dark non-flammable board) will be hung under the ceiling of each room, behind which the necessary infrastructure for managing the exhibition will be hidden and which will hold most AV technology and lighting elements.
Description of the exhibition: The exhibition will be structurally organized vertically according to the nature of the building itself. The inner core of the tower is vertically divided into six separate high rooms serving as the backbone of the narrative.
1st floor – entrance areas with a ticket office and shop. Main information panel.
2nd floor – The story of the tower – a tall model of the tower installed in the exhibition space complemented by mapping of the building's historical development. The surface of the tower model itself serves as the central display area. Content-wise, it should focus on the technologies of the water tower's operation and the history of the tower itself. The back surface behind the tower serves as an additional projection surface.
3rd floor – Reading room – history of water and fire – installation of research areas with screens (individually or grouped in the middle of the room). These areas will present individual sections of the topic. A common visual denominator for the entire installation will be ensured by AV production.
4th floor – Archive of Prague fires – presented as an archive – individual boxes/screens covering an entire wall of the exhibition space hide the history of significant fires in Prague. Some of them – the most important ones – are "opened" and offer a glimpse inside…
5th floor – the story of fire – the story of the nation – a full-surface immersive projection on the walls of the space supplemented by suggestive sound will refer to fire as essence and cause. The central theme could be the fire of the National Theatre.
6th floor – Belvedere – a view into the past and present. The primary function of the top floor is a viewpoint over Prague and a well-deserved rest after the demanding ascent. It is a calming space after the experience of fire from the National Theatre. The visitor returns to daylight, to reality. Filled with many new insights and stimuli, they deserve a final conclusion closing the theme of fires and water in Prague. We offer them a summary in the form of a concluding film that talks about how society learned from fires, what measures were taken to reduce fires, how the fires themselves changed the organization of the city, etc.
In the middle of the room, a seating area is installed from where visitors can observe Prague just as they watch the concluding recap film.
Around the windows, virtual peepholes are placed – offering views into fictional and/or historical versions of the city and showing Prague as it was, is not, and will not be.
Seating modules may be supplemented with a layer of information about individual fires as a form of accompanying program for children.
STAIRCASE AREA – is left unchanged as the original element of the tower – a zone where we work only with light and sound. Both media guide the visitor up the stairs through individual stops to the top floor of the viewing belvedere. Individual gobo projectors project a light inscription, pictogram, or other graphic motif at each floor… sound is spread throughout the space – e.g., dripping water or another form reminding that we are in the water tower.
Furniture and decoration: The exhibition is conceptually based on electronic forms of presentation. It primarily uses light in various forms (scenographic lighting, projections, mapping, etc.). The installation contains a minimal number of exhibition furniture elements and decorations. Due to the construction of the project in a monumentally protected building, this presentation method appears to be suitable. It requires minimal interventions into the existing structure – most elements will be placed on the floor, or will be suspended from the ceilings of individual rooms. Cable infrastructure will be routed within the furniture or in an exposed manner along the wall surfaces.
The project does not significantly interfere with the staircase area.
The internal atmosphere of the individual sections of the installation will be complemented by a monochrome wall paint in a dark gray shade – only in the interiors of the rooms in the inner core of the tower on the 2nd and 3rd floors.
A suspended false ceiling (dark non-flammable board) will be hung under the ceiling of each room, behind which the necessary infrastructure for managing the exhibition will be hidden and which will hold most AV technology and lighting elements.
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