Successful school
By Branislav Jelenčík
The aim of this paper is to map the issue of the success of a school (faculty) through the prism of exact, objective criteria and other influencing factors. Those criteria result not only from the academic world, or from the regulations of state institutions. i analyze this problem by means of current marketing in education. i use this approach in order to show a different point of view and involving the fact that we are a part of the globalized world with the rules and attitudes we sometimes do not want to admit. The complexity of knowledge, strategic superiority and initiative form the best defence against unpleasant surprises. There exist certain parallels in understanding success in the past, nowadays and in the future, but they are definitely not identical. The secret of success is in details, complexity and diversity of views. Success needs to be developed systematically and methodically. We have to monitor and measure its growth and changes. We could enter confrontation with those who are concerned, but especially with those who are affected by it. Success is a part of corporate culture and only so it can be perceived as something relevant for the organization, school, and faculty.
Energy cooperativeness of urban structures
By Peter Morgenstein
An obvious characteristic feature of current architectural projects should be their energetic economy and sophistication. Such trend is in the long term run required the European Union. The architectural point of view will certainly not be sufficient to accomplish the targets of the 20-20-20 strategy envisioned for the year 2020. It will be inevitable to push the concept of the energetic economy into the urban architectural context. The current architecture as well as urban planning aim at logical transformation that will most likely mean the alternation of principles in thinking and design compared to their development at the end of 20th century. The indispensable transformation should induce new urban basis and principles which would be in harmony with the today’s state of the world and its expected future development. The principle of energetic cooperativeness of urban structures is one of the possible ways for rational whole-European strategy of emission reduction, energy consumption and use of renewable energy resources. The principle stresses the use of locally accessible resources, above all the energy of solar radiation in its form of thermal collectors and photovoltaic cells. The doctoral thesis research of the author is based on software simulation of the incident solar radiation to surfaces of the defined types of urban structures with the aim to examine their solar potential. The simulations are based on hourly data throughout a typical year for the locality of the city of Bratislava. For the purpose of energetic characteristics of the researched structures, new urban indicators were introduced: a cooperative indicator describing the potential of energetic cooperation of the given structure, and a solar index expressing the structure’s relative potential of use of the solar radiation. The partial results of the energetic cooperativeness of urban structures are presented in the table. They confirm a striking dependence of energetic consumption on demands of the end user.
Recycling as a tool of creative design
By Katarína Lauková Zajíčková
Recycling in design activities has many forms. In its current understanding, it is related to ecological tendencies, however the spectrum of its applications indicates its abundant and rich cultural and historical roots. The multiplicity of its creative principles indicates a non-univocality and complexity of the topic. It has the nature of individualised production when speaking about single product recycling. This indicates numerous controversial aspects. On one side, it provides total freedom to the designer, however, on the other side the quality of the final product represents the mastery and skills of the producer. The individualised production in Slovakia is done mainly in the form of prototypes. Here, the exchange of knowledge between individual producers is more or less zero. In spite of the rich theoretical basis, represented by the current theories of sustainable design (Cradle to cradle, Biomimicry, Natural Capitalism) the creative production is spontaneous, without any clear rules. Publications and exhibitions are aimed at documentation and presentation of individual products without any effort to indicate the principles and goals of recycling. a deeper critical assessment of the used technology, origin of the used materials and the opportunities for the further recycling are missing as well. Single product recycling incorporates apart from ecological aspects the possibility to establish the connection to cultural and regional memory, revival of trades at partial repairs or reconstructions. It also provides expression of remembrance values. Therefore it is important to broaden the understanding of such design and include the cultural, psychological and sociological studies that can provide a deeper knowledge of man in his position of a creator or consumer. This would no doubt evoke new solution for the controversial topics. The recognition of the consumer’s divergent behaviour can be understood by deeper knowledge of psychology introduced into the design process. That may enable the designer to work in the way that would overcome the possible consumer barriers in acceptance of the product. Today, it is no more possible to characterise recycling in product design as simple reuse of the previous product. Such definition would be imprecise and would not indicate the essence of this process. It also induces wide opportunities for incorrect interpretation of both artistic and designer works of art. It would also enable an undesired infiltration of abridged objects to be exposed on exhibitions pretending the ecological concept. The many years of single product recycling practice provide opportunity for evaluation and summarization of the so far obtained knowledge. They also give us opportunity to avoid the negatives or further examine the non-homogenous aspects presented by real life.
The Dynamit Nobel plant in Bratislava: Key aspects of architectural and urban planning development
By Nina Bartošová
Today the plan called Istrochem previously known as the Chemical Plant of Juraj Dimitrov, located in northeast part of the city of Bratislava known as The New City, has overcome a complicated development since its establishment. Apart from the production plant, the former dynamite and other explosives producing factory, based in 1873 by a Swede Alfred Nobel, other neighbouring sites belong to the historically developing region. The area of the former factory for artificial fibres known as Závod mieru (The Piece Plant 1947-1951) is separated by a road (Vajnorské St.) from the main area. The sites of several neighbouring residential districts belong to the main area as well. They provided accommodation for the factory workers. Unlike the other more than ten Nobel dynamite factories throughout Europe, the Bratislava factory went through radical change in its urban architectural setting. Its present state only very vaguely indicates that it is a follower of one of the most important Austro Hungarian explosive factories. Barely anything has been left out of the oldest structures designed by the Feiglers, a notable Bratislava family of master builders. There were left only few of the structures built by Pittel and Brausewette, an Austrian company based in Bratislava at that time. The both world wars meant a prosperous time for the factory. Most structures that have been preserved are from the period of the Second World War. The last upturn of production and the related urban and architectural development are linked with the arrival of Professor Vladimír Karfík to Slovakia. He is the author of the architectural design of Závod mieru (The Piece Plant). Through construction of the new factory and the connected housing estates Vistra (Mierová kolónia) and White Cross (Biely kríž) Karfík brought not only modern industrial architecture but a quality standard of living as well. This was a model that had been taken over from the functioning model of the Bata’s shoe factories. What we find interesting on the former Nobel factories is the fact that in spite of building factories all over the world Nobel did not use a unified urban scheme or standardized architectural design. His factories logically followed production requirements but the different local conditions, continual transformation and development in building construction have negatively marked the clarity of urban setting. In comparison to this, the Karfík’s style represents a clear concept as to the production and complementary services.
Architectural form and decoration of the Bratislava factories: Architecture of the selected factories from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries
By Veronika Kvardová
Industrial areas built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries represent a significant part of the society and its cultural heritage. Classifying the values of industrial buildings, many find the values of historical documents, the technical, social and scientific ones as the most important, while the architectural artistic value stands apart. This report focuses on this aspect of industrial architecture. Examination of architectural forms and decoration of the particular industrial objects is the main topic. The paper is focused on decoration as a specific value of industrial heritage. Selected for the research were the Hungarian municipal thread factory of G. Roth, the rubber factory MATADOR and the thread factory Danubius in Bratislava. The municipal factory of G. Roth represents the style of decoration which was used at the end of 19th century and is known as industrial style. The buildings are usually one floor high, with a facade, where the bearing structure is represented by brick pilasters between plastered walls. Such types of building can be found in many Austrian and Hungarian cities. In Bratislava, this style was used by the famous architects from the Feigler family. There are many different types of buildings in the area of the Hungarian thread factory on Parickova Street. The most dominant one is the spinning house, whose design was influenced by the English type of thread factories. The Hungarian thread factory had a decorative facade, but after the reconstruction the spirit disappeared. The other buildings in the factory have interesting details, forms and functions as well. One of the more decorative facades is on the single-storey building of the finishing house, which is a representative of industrial style. The rubber factory MATADOR is the oldest part of the city district of Petržalka, which is situated on the left side of the river Danube. Most of the buildings in this are of the town were destroyed and many blocks of flats were built instead. The contour of the factory has a sharp shape created by saw-tooth roofs on the production halls. An unusual production hall with a double-rounded form is placed in this silhouette. The whole factory is made of iron, concrete, and a typical ochre brick. This combination of materials creates a characteristic decor used on each building of the factory. The Danubius factory was designed by Julius Mayreder, one of the Vienna architects, who was part of the Secession club. Therefore the building has a decoration influenced by secession architectural style. The form of the main building which is protected by the state is created from a large main content with added towers. This form with decorations creates one of the most interesting industrial buildings in Bratislava. The architecture of Bratislava at the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th century was influenced by nonresident architects and owners of factories, who had a lot of experience from the past. These sorts of impact created an attractive mixture of industrial architecture in one of the most industrial towns of that period.
An urban park – from past to present
By Eva Putrová
The article deals with the development of urban parks, from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries up to present, and it tries to type the approaches in the contemporary park design in Europe. Park and garden design reflected the progress in architecture and art; their forms and functions were influenced by geographical, industrial and social conditions during the time. Gardens were first to become objects of aesthetic interpretation and an inspiration for park design. The opening up of private gardens to the public was the fi rst step on the way to the establishing of public parks and gardens. Later, the necessity for public parks and communal orchards for the entire public appeared. Public parks were created on the sites with suitable conditions – past gardens, closed down graveyards, old town fortifications, but also at woodlands on the settlement edges, game hunting grounds and farmland. Public parks followed the patterns of those in England and Germany as an English natural and landscape park. The picturesque theory and practice of Humphry Repton during the 19th century, was later on modified by landscape architects like Joseph Paxton, who spread Repton’s vision among the general public via his design of public parks; next J. C. Adolph Alphand with his dramatic topography and planting of parks in Paris; as well as Calvert Vau and Frederic Law Olmsted, who further developed concepts of extensive parks. However, the first place in starting public parks in central Europe belongs to Bratislava. The Sad Janka Kráľa was created between 1774 – 1776 in the Baroque Classicism style, and since then it has undergone many design changes. Many personalities and movements have contributed to the development of urban parks. American landscape school brought in a new concept of ’landscape urbanism’ space in the Central Park in New York; German landscape school with its concept of a community park of Volkspark; Scandinavian school via the new structure of urban parks in Stockholm. By designing Park Güel in Barcelona, Anthoni Gaudi contributed to the development of form with only one work, but really significant one. His original design contained new constructional ideas and building components, as well as the planting of local plant species. a unique approach of a painter, sculptor and a botanist was that of the Brazilian Roberto Burle Marx who matched his landscape frame of abstract compositions with that of architectural modernism. The Amsterdamse Bos park in Amsterdam is an influential pioneer of ecological design and of the modern park design – where many landscape elements were based on scientific analyses, and spatial design comes from abstract schemes. During the functionalism and modernism periods, the parks were based on the knowledge of natural laws, nature elements and balanced relation between the man and the nature. At the end of 20th century, abstract modernism was on the decline. Function, which determined the primary form, became less important and an expressive form become more significant. Ecological trends influenced the importance of natural environment protection; however, many authors preferred the art in new, post-abstract form. Currently, the landscape design is pluralistic, employing diverse sources and disciplines. This is reflected in varied creative approaches and diverse forms of current parks. Parks which were designed abroad feature high creative invention, generous concepts and individual internal philosophy. The Parc de la Villete is one of the first public parks containing postmodern ideas. Since then, many parks have been created in the countries where focus of attention is on so called ’green projects’. The article presents examples of park visits in France, Spain, Sweden and Germany. In each country, the garden design followed its individual approach, taking into consideration its individual historical development. The selection of parks covers varied approaches in garden planning. The conclusion of the article tries to sort out approaches in the design and draw an attention to the unfavourable situation of Slovak parks.