Today, Aliancia Stará Tržnica (The Alliance Old Market Hall) and the Institute SGI introduced their common project Živé námestie (A Living Plaza), which should serve as a resource for the revitalization of the Námestie SNP and Kamenné námestie (two connected squares in the city center) into a functional and accessible urban space.
The project was created in the course of over two years and in collaboration with project partners – the architectonic studio 2021 and the Laboratórium architektúry krajiny; with the City of Bratislava participating as well. At the first project presentation, the primate of Bratislava, Mr. Ivo Nesrovnal, was present as well: “The Námestie SNP and Kamenné námestie are important public spaces in the center of Bratislava. We actively consulted the Živé námestie project in the process of its creation and I believe, that we will be able to realize more than a few of the proposed changes. Similar to the Old Market Hall, this project proves, that active citizens are very useful for the development of the city.”.”
„The most interesting thing about the project is that after we collected the data and consulted various experts, the most effective changes that arose were also the simplest. For example, only by moving free parking spots from the lower to the upper part of the Námestie SNP, we can decrease the number of cars on the square by approximately 30%,” says Ctibor Košťál from the SGI Institute. Apart from hundreds of pages of data and analyzes, various similar “Quick Wins” solutions are also included in the project. They present interventions, that can significantly increase the conditions the squares are in while not being financially-demanding and time-consuming. “Some of the “Quick Wins” solutions had already been realized affront the Old Market Hall thanks to our partnership with Volkswagen Slovakia. Last year, we trimmed the trees, added new seating and lightning and started a regular cleaning service. We also take care of small repairs on the square and the outcome is now a living urban space, where many citizens and tourists meet and spend their spare time. We would like to realize changes, which are exactly as simple, but functional in the whole space,” explains Gábor Bindics from the Alliance Old Market Hall.
However, this is not where the project ends. With the data and information it obtains, the project can serve as a source for a public architectural & urbanism competition, which should be a legitimate tool to create a long-term strategy and complex solutions for the future of the plazas.
The whole project, including the collected data and proposed “Quick Wins” solutions is freely available at www.zivenamestie.sk1
1The project is a common output from the Shared Cities: Creative Momentum project, co-financed by the European Union's Creative Europe program and the National Project of the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic Government for the Development of Civil Society: Promoting partnership and dialogue on participatory public policy making, operation program Effective public administration, supported by the European social fond. Some outputs from the Živé námestie project were co-financed by the Fond for the promotion of arts. Shared Cities: Creative Momentum (SCCM) is a European cultural platform addressing the contemporary urban challenges of European cities. SCCM is a joint project of Goethe-Institut (DE), Czech Centres (CZ), reSITE (CZ), Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava (SK), Association of Belgrade Architects (RS), Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre – KÉK (HU), Katowice City of Gardens (PL), KUNSTrePUBLIK (DE), Mindspace (HU), Old Market Hall Alliance (SK), Res Publica – Cities Magazine (PL). Co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
