The aim of the proposal is to create a binding basis for the development of a new cultural landscape – bringing life back to the abandoned landscape, reinhabiting the valley slopes, and building on the initial efforts of the investor – such as the pond, orchards, etc. This area will reassess post-war management and the form of settlement.
A secluded valley west of Staré město pod Sněžníkem, on the border of Moravia, Bohemia, and Polish Kłodzko. The Sudetes abandoned by their original inhabitants. The loosely built-up area on the slopes of the valley has transformed into a densely populated recreational settlement at the bottom of the valley, with fields disappearing and forests increasing. Within them lie remnants—gathered piles of stones from past fields, traces of roads and paths. The territory is defined by the built-up part of Hynčice, the surrounding slopes on both sides of the valley, the Štvanice hill, and the neighboring slopes above the villages of Stříbrnice and Štěpánov. Today's new role of the inhabitants, instead of farmers, consists of city dwellers commuting for leisure. The landscape is also used in winter when the valley turns into skiing areas. The aim of the proposal is to create a binding basis for the development of a new cultural landscape, i.e., to bring life back to the abandoned landscape, to reinhabit the valley slopes, and to build upon the initial efforts of the investor—ponds, orchards, etc. This area will reassess post-war management and forms of settlement.
The goal is not to restore the state to that before the expulsion of the German population, but to create a vibrant landscape for people who do not want the abandoned, uprooted Sudetes. Thus, it aims to establish a tourist mountain village connected with the surrounding nature. The proposal is based on the valid territorial plan, natural laws, and dependencies.
In early spring, the land registry was compared with the remnants of collapsed houses and roads. In this context, the concept began to take shape. The choice to restore old paths as a fundamental conceptual tool for the proposal. New stopping points along the journey—clearings in the forest interpreted as forest chapels, removed piles creating paved hollows for bivouacking or picnics, a new Calvary above the vanished Štěpánov, a shift in the function of bunkers, land art, etc. Pastures are divided by orchards and strips of trees on gathered stones. The pasture area, with minimal crossings of people and cattle, is multi-level. The opposite of the new pond will be a mountain botanical garden. In winter, the area functions as a ski resort, which will be enhanced by a cable car and lifts to neighboring valleys. The starting point will be shifted further south to the center of the village near the former chapel, where a new focal point will be established—a support building, a terrain wave with an open atrium, minimally visible outside winter. An observation point is considered on Mount Štvanice above the intersection of ski slopes. Above the bunker by the ski slope, a bar hovers. New buildings are proposed on old foundations or outside in relation to agricultural or service (winter) functions. Buildings by the pond, on the edge, a cider mill in the orchard, etc.—contemporary architecture creating a new era for Hynčice.
Location : Hynčice pod Sušinöu
Author: ječmen studio / Eva Blažková, Lukáš Blažek
Collaboration: Vítězslav Rejšek
Investor: private
Project: 2010