An experimental music hall as an extension of old power plant building in Bratislava is a narrative in itself proposed by Miro Straka from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava. It tells a story of architecture as well as story of its own, fairy tale celebrated by a modern man – cinematic cliché. How to reinvent figurative ornamentation in architecture in a way it would engage our imagination? Greek mythology is no longer common knowledge – just a nostalgic memory of the past. However, new symbols and meanings arose with birth of pop-culture. Stories which everyone can understand and interpret – Optimus Prime as new atlas, carrying weight of humanity on his shoulders, Or Darth Vader as symbol of despotic power.

Straightforward principles (of old building) in contrast with restless and surprising organization, where linear structure is replaced by unexpected spaces and the austerity of reinforced concrete twisted into constantly changing mass without any visible language logic. Seemingly useless and unreadable object opposed to repetitiveness and predictability of present and planned design. With mass customization and big scale printing modularity loses its present reasons, that is where blending come in, connecting not fitting or related objects not based on their shape but rather on their meaning, where bricks are used in modularity anything(batman) can be used in blending.

Grotesque assemblages are reversing ratio between function and ornament, radically dissolving relation between architectural object and reality. Object gain or lose its beauty based on social circumstances, which predict how we read it, therefore old figurative motives are no longer present – they are rather replaced with ornamentation known to modern man, from pop symbols to movie stars to engage his imagination.

Leave a Reply