Interview with Luis Marques

Congratulations on the success of your students in the Olověný Dušan 2011 competition. How do you assess this competition?
Luis Marques: I perceive the spirit of the competition very positively; namely the fact that it is founded, organized, and produced by a community of students with little (I hope) intervention from the faculty administration.

Did your students' work fully meet the assignment?
Our original request was more modest and open – it concerned the rehabilitation of two existing railway viaducts near the Florenc bus station. However, most students (including the winners) pushed the boundaries of the assignment and holistically addressed the broader urban area, including the bus station itself. Therefore, I could say that the students sympathetically exceeded the original criteria.

What grade did they receive?
A 'B'.

Did you have any reservations?
These Spanish students expressed a clear talent from the beginning, and most of their conclusions were reached independently. We had no objections to their conclusions, although it would not surprise me if some – such as planners, heritage conservationists, other architects, and even the broader public – had issues with their solutions. In our studio, we strive to create a critical environment so that students can freely explore urban and architectural strategies that are otherwise unfeasible in the real world. Moreover, international students bring cultural eccentricities into the process, and this mix can offer unexpected results that might provoke objections from more conservative individuals.

What do you see as specific quality?
The winning project successfully balances the relationship between concept and context. One does not overpower or submit to the other. The new form complements the old viaducts with its geometry and simplicity. The project creates a new horizontal configuration that intersects and occasionally penetrates the old viaducts; at the same time, it is programmatically filled with various commercial, residential, or cultural activities. The horizontality is occasionally interrupted by vertical objects placed in strategic positions (such as the intersection of two old viaducts). Such a solution creates immensely interesting tension between program, movement, and form. The greatest quality lies in the fact that the design transforms an inactive urban space into a potentially well-functioning place full of activities and diversity.

How would you characterize the conceptual focus of the assignment concerning current issues in the Czech city?
Our assignment was aimed at two contemporary themes: the conversion of an existing architectural object and the rehabilitation of public space. As I mentioned, the original task was to rehabilitate two viaducts, particularly the one that is not in operation. We were inspired by various examples from Berlin and other European cities where the arched spaces beneath viaducts become galleries, restaurants, or shops. A simple intervention automatically activates both sides of the viaduct and improves the quality of the urban space. However, I was surprised after inspecting the site: firstly, I had no idea such an exceptional urban space existed in Prague (I suspect that most people similarly do not realize this fact), and secondly, we saw tremendous potential for the place to transform from something negative into something completely positive. And the students must have realized this as well. This was probably the reason why the boundaries of their work expanded and the results were very complex in terms of the new program of traffic adaptation in the confrontation of old and new forms, etc.

Did the final solution raise new questions for you?
One of the main questions that this project (and other works) raised was the existing location and traffic solutions inside and around the Florenc bus station. The movement of traffic around the station determines its urban values, and in the current situation, no one would consider it efficient. The movement of buses divides the space between the two viaducts and effectively nullifies any positive experience. The station's operation is also stuck in an old system where passengers have to search for their bus on a huge asphalted area. This is neither spatially functional nor aesthetically pleasant. Asphalt surfaces ultimately cover most of the area around the viaducts and are inaccessible to pedestrians or other additional operations. The question raised by the project is why such an incredible space is being used as an asphalt parking lot.

In your studio, you teach a number of international students. How does this small international community function, especially the relationships between domestic and foreign students?
As far as I know, the connections between Erasmus program students and Czech students seem unfortunately minimal. In my view, this is the result of the separation of other subjects taught in English for Erasmus students from the studios. Any social interaction, therefore, seemingly happens outside of school, mainly in dorms or bars.


















Luis Miguel Marques (*1965, Lisbon, Portugal)

Education
1987-90 California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, USA
1990-91 California Polytechnic University, Florence, Italy
Experience
1992-93 Steven Langford Architects, Irvine, California
1994-96 Omicron K, Prague
1996-99 AA Prague / CMC, Prague
1999-2001 Aukett, Prague
since 2001 own office HMArchitekti, Prague

1999-2005 member of the editorial board of the magazine Architekt
since 1999 FA ČVUT, assistant in the studio of Doc. Vladimír Krátký