Student participiants:
Jeremi Mroziński, Jadwiga Śląska, Jan Dzudziec, Julia Kurnik, Beata Kasco, Roland Kelemen, Borbála Varga, Gergely Horváth, Matúš Meňhert, Anastasiia Popova, Maria Dondajewska
Location: Malta Lake
Lake Malta, known also as the Maltański Reservoir, is an artificial lake in Poznań. It was formed in 1952 as a result of the damming of the Cybina River. It is about 2.2 km long (with the circuit of 5,6 km), which makes the lake the biggest man-made lake of the city. The water is 3.1 m deep on average with a maximum about 5 m. There are a number of recreational attractions along the edge of the lake including: an artificial ski slope, an artificial ice rink, a zoological garden, Kolejka Parkowa Maltanka – a narrow railway, the Mound of Freedom, seasonal bikes rental – MaltaBike
The lake also has one of the oldest man-made rowing venues in Europe – The Malta Regatta Course. This dates back to 1952 and has held a number of Rowing World Cup events.
The lake also gives its name to the Malta theatre festival, held in Poznań annually in June, with some of the shows taking place next to the lake.
SPRING/ ŹRÓDEŁKO
Źródełko (The spring) is a site located adjacent to the southeastern shore of the lake. The water flowing out is cold, hence the spring is very popular in summer. For many decades, it has attracted not only tourists but also residents of neighbouring districts who fill their vessels to take water home. However, the use of springs in the area of the walking route to Kobylegopol has a much longer tradition – it was mentioned by Marceli Motty in his „Przechadzki po mieście” (City Walks) published in 1889. The spring is considered miraculous by some and the water is said to have curative effects.
The water flowing out of the spring is groundwater, which flows into a special well and then out into the open. It is rich in minerals but has a variable composition and, as recommended, should be consumed in moderation, after boiling. Sometimes the water’s quality was questionable or its consumption was banned
FINAL RESULTS
The spring – a cult place located in the vicinity of the lake’s south-eastern shore – was the location of a spatial intervention by another workshop group – led by Czech architect Miroslav Malý of the Malý Chmel studio. The water flowing out is cold, making the spring very popular with residents during the summer months. For many decades, it has attracted not only tourists but also residents of neighbouring districts, who fill bottles to take its water home. There are many urban legends about its „healing” or „miraculous” properties, but this attractive, shady area with concrete seating designed by Klemens Mikula is not as popular as it should be. The students – respecting the original design by Malta’s architect – decided to make only minor interventions in the main area of the spring. The resulting installation, called „Dialogue”, consists of two elements.
The first element is a simple, irregular composition of seats incorporated into a concrete pond at the spring water intake. At first glance, the inconspicuous form may escape the attention of visitors to this corner of Malta, but initial observation shows that the seat overhanging the water is very popular with groups of children relaxing here. The second installation – a reflection of the first – was placed behind the spring in the woodland surrounding the pond. Both forms have been painted grey by the architects – so that they blend in with the surrounding trees and do not stand out visually against the background of the concrete seats designed by Mikuła.
Tutor: Malý Chmel, Miroslav Malý
Architects from Czech Republic
Malý Chmel is a free platform of three architects – Zdeněk Chmel, Míra Chmel and Miroslav Malý – established in 2016. Office is based in two cities in the Czech Republic – Budweis and Olomouc.
The architects started cooperation during the studies, but formally the office was established during the implementation of the first large project – the school extension in Nezamyslice.