Study of the Archeopark in Přísovice

Source
ATAK architekti
Publisher
Tisková zpráva
01.06.2011 08:55
Jiří Janďourek
Jana Medlíková

Study: 2010/10
Client: Regional Office of the Liberec Region
Processor: Project Atelier David s.r.o.
Author: Jiří Janďourek, Jana Medlíková
Built-up area: 3,478 m²
Usable area: 5,605 m²
Enclosed space: 39,970 m³
location    
The lands selected for the construction of the "Archaeopark of Neolithic Culture" are located on the outskirts of the village of Příšovice, at the site of a settlement discovered from the younger Stone Age.
From today’s perspective, an inconspicuous location, influenced by the immediate proximity of the highway Prague - Liberec, but for prehistoric inhabitants, a place so unique, especially due to the accessible source of various raw materials for manufacturing industry, that they founded their village right here. The neighboring hall and planned zinc plant rather indicate the growth of a logistics center in the area than the presence of a culture nearly 7 thousand years old. A person passing by on the highway might not even suspect the presence of this site itself.

archaeological survey
The first Neolithic finds indicating the existence of an archaeological site in the area of Příšovice have been known since the early 20th century. Further significant reports come from 1971, when Neolithic objects were destroyed during the construction of residential units. The destruction was discovered accidentally and was not reported. Since 1977, non-systematic collections have been ongoing in the area. The highlight was the discovery of part of an industrial settlement between the highway and railway in 2007 during the stripping of topsoil for the construction of a hall for VGP Park a.s. Turnov.
The rescue archaeological survey at the site of the hall demonstrated the existence of a completely new and unique part of the village from the younger Stone Age, which can be dated, according to the found pottery, to the later period of the Neolithic, known as the culture of pierced pottery (around 5000 – 4500 BC).
The extent of this settlement structure has not yet been established. Continuation of the settlement and the occurrence of other Neolithic objects with the same intensity can also be expected on adjacent lands.
Among the most significant finds is the discovery of a total of twenty prehistoric workshops for the production of ground stone industry and flaked flint industry, regularly arranged in three rows and the footprints of 15 prehistoric houses in their vicinity. Fragments of tools and vessels of pierced pottery, remains of flaked industry, and other objects were also found around the site.
A similar layout of the settlement with production pits has not yet been documented anywhere else in Central Europe. The uniqueness of the find is further amplified by the fact that the discovered village was not disturbed by another culture. Therefore, efforts to preserve this unique settlement are essential from an archaeological point of view.
(source used: Workshop settlement from the younger Stone Age, culture of pierced pottery, Cadastral Area of Příšovice, Liberec Region, author Petr Brestovanský, 2008)

concept
“What has been hidden in the earth, let it be discovered for mankind and preserved by it for future generations.”
This means: to lift the earth and thoroughly explore the mysteries hidden beneath for seven millennia, after exploration return the findings back to the earth, or protect them from the adverse climate and make them accessible to humans. Do no harm, preserve for the future.
The Archaeopark is a “large turf of soil” cut out in a place with a high concentration of finds and carefully raised above the terrain. The pit beneath the turf will first be professionally explored archaeologically, only then will it be preserved in a building and made accessible to the public as a center for covered excavations. Vertical support structures at the center of the excavations must be reduced to a minimum so as not to damage the finds. Glass walls around the perimeter of the excavation pit will protect, ensure transparency through the space, while enclosing it and allowing the creation of a microclimate inside. Two structures will grow from the turf: a utility building and an observation tower. The observation tower is the focal point of the Archaeopark. Its motto is “to see and be seen.” To be a landmark in the landscape, attracting visitors from afar, to be a viewpoint overlooking various geological formations that will help explain why prehistoric people established a manufacturing settlement right here.
Outside the excavation center, the settlement will be preserved in the ground after investigation, where it will remain protected for hundreds or thousands of years. To envision the village hidden beneath the surface, an open-air museum with replicas of Neolithic houses at the site of the discovered objects will serve.

urban planning solution
The Archaeopark does not seek a non-existent context with the surrounding area, with a non-scaled hall, highway, garden colonies, or panel houses, nor does it strive to match the volume of the hall.
It is a solitary structure, placed in the southwest part of the land, and its positioning originates from the presumed occurrence of excavations. The connection with the site and drawing attention to itself is resolved through a different orientation (the arranged urban structure follows the original structure of the Neolithic village), lifting it above the terrain on an embankment that makes it more visible from the highway as a single-story object and positioning a tall object – a signboard that is visible from afar in both directions of the highway.
The open-air museum with replicas of Neolithic houses and other outdoor exhibits is constructed in the northeastern part of the land. In front of the excavation center, there is parking for 35 cars and 5 buses.

operation and layout
The main entrance to the excavation center is situated from the southwest of the Archaeopark parking lot.
In the spacious vestibule beyond the entrance, we find information with a ticket office, cloakroom, and a staircase leading to the observation tower. The vestibule spatially connects into a single hall with the commercial part, mirroring the layout of the utility building. The hall is separated from the permanent exhibition with excavations by a glass wall, which ensures visual connection and allows for the creation of a special microclimate in the exhibition.
Entrance to the internal exhibition is from the vestibule, with exit in the commercial section.
The commercial part includes a café with facilities, a shop with souvenirs and regional products, and restrooms.
On the 2nd floor of the utility building, the informational educational part is located with a lecture hall for 60 people, a study room with a workshop and depository, a room for instructors, offices, restrooms, and facilities. From the second floor, one can access the green roof above the excavations. The 3rd floor holds exhibition space.

exhibition
The internal exhibition is based on a circular tour route above the uncovered excavations and through exhibition objects. Visitors move along walkways above the finds so as not to damage them, while observing the authentic excavations. They pass through a replica of a prehistoric house, workshops with demonstrations of contemporary crafts, where they can try their skills, for example, in the production of flint industry or pierced pottery. From the internal exhibition, it is also possible to continue to the outdoor exhibition.
The outdoor exhibition is an open-air museum, a reconstructed part of the industrial settlement, in such a form as it probably appeared in the Neolithic, and in such a layout as it will actually be found. Part of the exhibition will be dedicated to outdoor workshops, which will be similar to the workshops in the excavation center. These will probably be the first crafts, and their focus and extent will depend on the finds discovered.
The exhibition gallery spaces serve only for temporary exhibitions.

expression
The expression of the building aims to convey a connection to prehistoric times through the raw materials and prehistoric shapes transformed into the present.
The rough massive stone embankment relates to the rawness of the Neolithic. The green roof represents a cut-out piece of terrain, the landscape along with its morphology. The primitive shape of the utility building is derived from the shape of a pole house, and the material integrity of its concrete shell underscores this primitiveness.

construction, technology
The excavation center is structurally designed in a skeletal system of steel columns and beams combined with concrete foundation pads and a reinforced concrete ceiling slab. Minimum support and relatively large spans are chosen to minimize earthwork that could damage the finds. Due to the embankment and the embedding of part of the structure below the terrain, the glass façade of the excavation center made from thermal insulating glass is reduced to one floor.
The flat roof is designed as an extensive green roof.
The observation tower is a wooden skeletal structure reinforced with an internal wooden staircase.
The utility building is constructed on the structural system of the excavation center. Steel columns from the ground floor of the center continue into the upper floors, where they connect beams into frames supporting the ceiling and transition into sloping steel roof frames, which form the supporting construction of the sloped roof. The lightweight outer shell, including the roof shell, is made of light concrete slabs suspended on the aforementioned frame.
Technological equipment needed for air exchange, heating, and creating a special microclimate, transformer stations, measurement and regulation, and other technical facilities are located in the technical basement suspended on the steel skeleton.
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