Changes

elective studio project
Faculty of Architecture, KU Leuven
2021

promoter
Leen Scholiers

Over the past 50 years, the area between two cities, Orlová and Karviná, has experienced a significant transformation. Historically known for its heavy industry and mining facilities, this region‘s local weather, natural resources, and landscape have been visibly affected. A notable issue that emerged in the 1970s was collapsing ground. As a result hills were turned into valleys and villages and cities into dust and rubble. This phenomenon has compelled people to relocate, leaving behind an abandoned cultural landscape.

2020 - post-industrial landscape, in the past 20 years all inhabitants left this territory, now the nature is taking over
1950 -  landscape  formed by the heavy industry and mining

In response to these challenges, a speculative scenario has been developed. The main road connecting the two cities is transformed into an art gallery. Multiple interventions along the motorway now reflect the region‘s history, the struggles of its local inhabitants, and the current post-human character of the landscape. Each intervention refers to already existing piece of art from well-known artists. All these permanent instalations are deeply linked to the area‘s context.
interventions along the motorway
orthophotography of the landscape

While driving along this transformed road, visitors can now admire these artistic interventions and learn more about them through a special radio frequency. Some of the interventions are designed as pavilions, offering a unique experience where visitors can stop their cars and enter to explore an additional layer of the project. The primary aim of this initiative is to attract people to engage with the landscape and its story, particularly the story of coal and miners. As a result, the landscape seems to breathe again, infused with new life and meaning.