Concept

The historic city park is a strong component of the city with high social but also ecological value. Its composition is exceptional in our conditions and for that reason the emphasis was placed on preserving and supporting the original compositional character and preserving the natural value of the trees. At the same time, the task was to return the park to its cultural present form and humanize its environment for the city’s inhabitants, bring life to it and improve its micro-climatic conditions.

The design was created in close cooperation with the management of the Regional Monuments Office, which determined the basic limits and possibilities of new architectural entrances to the environment. However, the existing equipment of the park is obsolete and devastated, so it was necessary to replace it. With these elements, we have inserted the current architectural morphology into the project and increased their functionality: the gazebo, new fountains, playground and all furniture and lighting are tuned and selected to look comprehensive, modern but unobtrusive in the symbiosis of the whole.

A special place has the design of lighting and illumination of the park. Lighting designers chose the lighting of individual areas in the park according to their importance and the character of sectors and pedestrian routes. The proposed lighting thus creates special scenery in the park, according to the compositional principles used by the original authors. The individual elements of the lighting fixtures are also selected with regard to their current design and the need to underline the contemporary approach in the historical context.

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Composition elements in the park:

Approach

This project is specific in that it is a rehabilitation of a historical park in the intentions of its cultural and historical value, taking into account its current state. The increased planting does not meet the current standards used in the designs today. However, the social value of the existing woody plants is high and therefore it was necessary to approach the solution in stages. This project solves the first conceptual phase of the modification of the existing area of ​​the park firmly bounded by cadastral boundaries. However, in its concept it goes further and offers the local government after
implementation of this project and a proposal for further adjustments. The priority of this project is the rehabilitation of the current space in terms of aesthetic and environmental criteria. As the social value of the trees that actually exist in the park does not allow for a more interventional solution proposed in one step, it is proposed to keep the trees that do not pose a public threat in terms of their health for their lifetime.

 

History

The city park in Banská Bystrica (formerly Lenin’s Park) was founded thanks to a group of young enthusiastic Bystrians in the 1840s in a military training ground and shooting range. In March 1896, which was the year of the celebrations of the Hungarian millennium, a proposal was made to modify the space according to the design of the artistic gardener Ármin Petz from Budapest. According to the situation that Petz developed in In 1895, the diagonal sidewalks were supplemented by another radial sidewalk, all of which were gradually supplemented by alleys. Two circular routes with semicircles were proposed rest nooks. The external circular route was not realized. According to the design, the park parterre in the east-west direction was modified with flowerbeds and roses. In the city plan from In 1927, the proposed pavilion was extended west of the center of the park. Later, however, they built a round wooden gazebo (music pavilion) right in the middle of the park. A romantic tuff bird feeder with a sculpture of a sitting woman (currently only a ruin) was originally located on the western edge of the ground floor. In r. In 1914, they built fences in the southern part of the park tennis courts (currently 6 courts) and changing rooms. In winter, this space was used as a skating rink with natural ice for public skating and hockey matches.

(according to the article History of the City Park, Július Bukovský)

 

Proposal

The proposal is basically based on the original historical concept of the solution, replacing and restoring its original elements. Great emphasis was placed on the revitalization of vegetation, the historical and social value of trees.

The proposed solution is based on the assignment of the investor, consultations of the proposed solution with the representatives of the customer, KPÚ in Banská Bystrica and in accordance with the statements of the authorities concerned at the time of processing the PD. The concept of walking moves is rehabilitated into the original historically known trace with the removal of later connections and deposits. Termination of connections to the surrounding access routes is adjusted for the needs of the proposed solution in the existing context of the situation and expected future changes (considered roundabout, etc.).

The surface of pedestrian moves is in the form of bio-threshing with inserted steel strip. The parts of the threshing floor delimited by the strips will be rolled, only mechanically compacted on the sides, so as not to damage the root systems of the existing trees. Trace is in original widths. Smaller paved surfaces realized in stone paving are designed where they are suitable, at the newly designed gazebo and places of fountain designs.
Their areas are minimized and their shape complements the concept of the proposed elements. During the arched pedestrian route, they are renewed – rehabilitated rest niches, which have disappeared over time, but are historically documented, also solved in a threshing floor, without boundary belts, so as not to damage the roots of adjacent trees.

The ground floor of the central (central) part of the so-called The bark is restored by a newly designed alley made of flowering apple trees, which are unproductive. They replace thuja, which are after life and will bring the effect of flowering trees to the central part of the bark. In the middle of the bark, perennial and onion beds are proposed, which should act synergistically with the flowering alley. Their interaction will be intensely perceived in the spring months. Other tree plantings will be supplemented at this stage of the project from deciduous trees originally occurring in the park. These are Summer Oak, Mountain Maple, Small-leaved Linden, Skin Chestnut and Black Walnut. Shrub plantings are designed in new semicircular niches and on bark. They are usually installed behind the proposed location of the benches. These are the shrubs of Rhododendron, Hydrangea, Kalina davidova, on the bark – Bird oats. Four groups of trees made up of chestnut, fire maple and smooth flycatcher are planted in the open areas of the park as a flowering and coloring accent. The vegetation perimeter in places where it is not planted will be installed from a rake, which will be cut for a short time, in the sense of an already existing hedge. The central space of the promenade is conceived symmetrically, as it was in the park originally, but in a contemporary expression in the form of a neoplasm. Other grown alley planting and green areas are perceived in the form of an English – loose garden and it is essential to accept the alley planting in the proposed solution.

The central space is designed as a multifunctional, in the form of a gathering space or a small square for small cultural and social activities. Its dominant feature is a newly designed gazebo divided into a stage and a viewpoint. There will also be elements of small seating furniture, which together with the stage and the viewpoint form a complete compositional element of the central space. In the central part of the promenade on the sides of the “square”, fountains with drinking elements as local accents are designed in the historically recorded circular extended parts of the circular path.

Fountains are designed at pavement level so as not to form visual barriers. The ground floor – the corso remains the compositional axis of the space and
The concept of greenery supports this primary and originally proposed function with an architectural, furniture concept, as well as modifications of greenery – the design of landscape architects. The ground floor is tectonically composed of elements of furniture and greenery embodied in simplicity and unobtrusive art, which should be underlined by fruit trees and small flower planting in combination with areas in this part (central promenade) of more intensively mowed lawn. In the future, sculptures can be installed on them as temporary outdoor exhibitions.

The water elements of the fountains should add to the compositional gradation and also help to humidify the air in the summer and thus improve the local micro climate in long-lasting droughts. There will also be artistic elements in the compositional axis of the ground floor – the existing modified Statue of a Mother with a Child by Acad. sculptor Dúbravský and in the next stage restored replica-new creation of a tuff feeder – Grotty. This is not the subject of the current design solution.

 

The design removes abandoned buildings such as a kiosk (at the entrance from Silver Square), a central gazebo, public lighting cabinets and all the disturbing elements. All modifications and exchanges of known functional covers for IS are also proposed. The area of ​​the current volleyball court is set aside for leisure activities. There will also be removed all modern deposits such as grandstands, fencing, paved areas and later the warehouse service facility (toilet). The original playground will also be removed in accordance with the requirements of the KPU and transferred to the area of ​​leisure activities. Also the rest area with millstones will be permanently removed from the solved area. We propose to move the SNP memorial plaque to a new, accessible position. It is permissible to design the affected element more artistically, or even plastically, and replace it with the original object in a new location (details are not addressed in this project and will be the subject of research and appropriate rendering of this historical memorial event).

The replacement of existing furniture is solved conceptually in the context of the solved design. Its shape characteristics, material and color design are approved by KPÚ. These are benches, baskets, information panels and elements of public lighting. They are proposed as a novelty, as the historical concept of furniture is not known and a possible attempt to return would seem unfounded today. The park is like a solitaire and does not form the forecourt of another historical monument, to which it should submit by several elements.

 

Altan

In the core of the park there is a gazebo, which is not an original element of the historical design, but has become part of social life. In the design, we approached its adaptation to the modern language of architecture so that it also meets the requirements for cultural activities that take place in this space and at the same time expand its possibilities. The composition axes of the park intersect in its center, where a gazebo is also located. The design is based on the existing shape, but transforms and breaks it into four separate parts that communicate with each other.

Tree revitalization and planting concept

The proposed modifications of greenery should help to firmly define and underline the already existing alley planting from the original woody plants with additional planting of a flowering alley in the section “korza” to create a “color” contrast – by planting an alley from trees with flowering effect. They replace here those that are already in a state to be replaced. The delicate parterre with the planting of flower beds of perennials and bulbs is to support the “flowering”
concept in the central part of the promenade, where people should stay, as they do not form transit routes in the park.
In restored niches, a free wall from the back of benches of flowering rhododendrons and hydrangeas is proposed. The covers are designed only behind the middle bench, so that the space is still perceived as safe from the visitor’s point of view.

The trees by the transit sidewalks are designed as a two-sided alley. The original author’s intention was to create one-of-a-kind alleys. As this is a historical starting point, we want to return to this. At the perimeter sidewalk in the north-eastern part, the existing two-sided alley will be supplemented by missing woody plants. The roundabout will also be supplemented by the missing trees in the bilateral alleys.

In the open areas of the park, four groups of chestnut, fire maple and smooth flycatcher will be planted as a flowering and coloring accent. Other woody plants that are intended for survival will be professionally treated by a certified arborist and left. Future regeneration will consist of the gradual replacement of entire alley sections.

 

Illumination

One of the main principles of the lighting project is the differentiation of zones so that the visitor, pedestrian can carry out various activities in the park. Therefore, the zones designated as communication are illuminated uniformly and continuously with a level of illumination adequate to this function even at night. In the case of other zones and especially in the central zone, priority was set to create an atmosphere where the visitor will have enough light to move and recognize objects in the space, which does not disturb attention in the gazebo zone, where cultural activities can be carried out, for which own lighting. They also have the effect of lighting directed at the plants in the central zone, reflections from the roofing of the gazebo as well as the lower lighting of the trees, which reflect the light into the space. Extreme lighting of the space is unsuitable from the point of view of the surrounding buildings – e.g. apartment buildings and also for economic reasons.

 

 

Construction: Revitalization of the City Park in Banská Bystrica

Area: 78,907 m2 (excluding the area of the tennis complex and includes part of the areas extending into the plots of the surrounding roads, in terms of cadastral documents)

Builder: City of Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovak Army 26, 974 01

Project: M PROJECT, spol. s r.o., Stavbarska 3647 / 2A, 058 01 Poprad

Responsible architect: Ing. Marek Šatanek

Architecture: Ing.arch. Viliam Holeva, Ing. arch. Pavol Meszaros, PhD.

Landscape Architecture and Arboriculture: Veles, Ing. Martin Kolník, Ing. Lenka Kolníková

Energy: EliPro, Ing. Zuzana Žlebčíková

Lighting: HazLighting, Laura Murguiía, Ing. Lenka Balážová

Water and sewerage: Ing. Gabriel Markovič

Statics: Ing. Dušan Hrušovský

Playgrounds: Acad. sculptor Jozef Kliský

Artworks: Mgr. art. Peter Beňo

Project: 2017-2018