Our Philosophy –We Breathe Life into Spaces
The Atelier was founded in 1998. We specialise in the restoration of historic sites where we seek to bring back to life the stories and ideas of the past generations. We bring life back to grand and famous as well as lost and forgotten gardens.
In our work we link together people and history, future and nature. All projects of different sorts have one thing in common: a timeless and comprehensive design reflecting affection for the place.
Methods of Work
Planning and developing of restoration projects in landscape design and architecture requires large scale surveys and detailed research to be performed and an exact and bulletproof rationale behind the design proposed.
In the preparatory stage we always carry out detailed surveys, research work and analyses which deliver valuable inputs for the next stages of the design development. The key sources helping us to understand the original ideas and composition are not only blueprints from archives, photographs and archaeological surveys but also cutting edge technologies such as ground penetrating radar (GPR) and Lidar mapping. We normally use drones for aerial views of the relevant sites and 3D scanners. The spatial composition of the site is projected into a virtual space and, for major projects, we also develop an animation for our customers as part of our architect´s impression study which makes it easier for us to explain the overall perception of the final outcome to them.
“More important than what grows in the garden is your experience there”.
The design proposed for a particular site reflects the historic roots and at the same time the present situation on site and how it communicates with its surroundings.
In the course of any work performed on heritage sites it is quite normal that new facts emerge during implementation of the project, leading to necessary adjustments in the final design documents making this type of design development and engineering different from others, however it makes it more exciting and dynamic.
Atelier Management
In the Atelier we have an agile management model. It allows us to respond quickly to the customers´ needs and promptly incorporate any changes into the design documents. This management method enables an effective involvement in the design process not only of landscape architects but also of the relevant experts and public administration bodies. At any point in the planning and design development process, the members of the Atelier team are updated on the project status and those details just being addressed. This makes the work much more efficient. Even though our team is relatively small we can prepare and develop big projects. Equally important is to grow the talent of our team members, share the skills within our team and further develop them in training courses led by an external couch.
Social Responsibility
Our business is not only design and project development. The Atelier members founded several associations which set the course in presentation and promotion of gardens in the Czech Republic. We organise the Open Garden Weekend which includes the gardens that are members of the international network of gardens. In the Czech Republic more than 200 gardens participate in this event every year and the number of visitors exceeds 40 000. We also manage the Lu and Tiree Chmelar Herb Garden which is our research ground for testing new trends in services offered to the visitors including lectures on herbs and plant drawing and painting in the style of the Bauer brothers. For families with young children we have prepared a project called “Trips to the Realm of Flora” in which children get a travel passport and can travel from a garden to garden where they work on specific tasks.
Awards
The work of the Atelier has received several awards in national architectural competitions. In our core business of heritage restoration we were awarded the Grand Prix Europa Nostra for the restoration of the Kuks gardens. The restoration of this garden also received the Special Mention German Design Award. The Restoration of the Tugendhat Villa and the Restoration of the Palm Tree Greenhouse were also awarded national prizes. The Czech Pavilion with our design of the roof top garden received the bronze medal at the world exhibition EXPO Milan.
The garden of Villa Tugendhat (UNESCO), Brno, Czech republic
The garden of Villa Tugendhat (built 1930-33) is more than just the building’s distinctive natural framework – it is literally one with it, joined with the house through interior and exterior architectural elements to form a single unique complex. It i one of the reasons why is vila on the list of a UNESCO heritage. The site’s genius loci, with its beautiful view of the historical skyline of the Brno city, inspired Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to create a unique architectural composition. The entire house, including the main living space, has been designed with an eye towards various different views of the city’s major landmarks. By contrast, the garden is a quite intimate space where the main role is played by nature. An important contributor to the garden’s design was the Brno-based landscape architect Markéta Roderová-Müllerová. VillaTugendhat is a set of works of art. The terrain, location of the building and vegetation fundamentally influenced the appearance of the building. After eighty years we tried to restore the original intention, which was destroyed by post-war modifications. The garden underwent the biggest change throughout the reconstruction. The memories of black and white photos have been converted into a colourful design of the present. In addition to the material restoration, we tried to restore mainly the atmosphere captured on family photos.
Architect: Mies van der Rohe / Landscapae architect: Markéta Roderová-Müllerová / Restoration of the Garden: Atelier Krejcirikovi (2010-12)
Private residence, North Bohemia, Czech Republic
Historical restoration with transformation for family life and adaptation to the 21st century. The core consists of an old park with a historic gazebo and a modern orangery; vegetable garden, fruit orchard, courtyard and homestead facilities. The castle courtyard received a regular Baroque composition, which is ruled by a castle with a corresponding newly created facade. Spaces around unpreserved buildings mediate vistas into the surrounding landscape. The romantic park with the dominant building of the gazebo forms an intimate zone behind the castle wall. The farm meadow and the restored orchard with a vegetable garden are again used for small-scale organic agriculture. The whole area again serves as an economic and representative heart of the locality.
The Hospital Garden Kuks, Czech Republic
National Cultural Monument, Historic garden from the the early eighteenth century
Heritage restoration of the garden and the adaptation for the use in the 21st century. The theme is medicine, herbalism and historical vegetable varieties. The restoration builds on the long history of healing and pharmacy for which this place was famous in the past. The formal structure of herb and vegetable beds follows historical sources and analogies. Beauty of the garden today attracts many enthusiastic visitors who return to the garden repeatedly.
Award (Note: Including hospital building) Grand Prix Europa Nostra 2017 / Building of the year 2016 / Award of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
Private residence Písečné, Czech Republic
Contemporary design is today view on the principles of formal gardens of the eighteenth century. There was no representative garden in front of the Chateau in the past. Contemporary garden presents the craftsmanship of the local people. Rehabilitation of the complex of historic buildings and garden space was made for the needs of presentation of local family company with adaptation to the conditions of the 21st century. The main motive works with water elements (fish pond and moat), vegetable garden, flower beds and orchard. The area also includes a natural part by the river. The whole area again serves as an economic and representative heart of the locality.
Restoration of the “Deer-park Obelisk” Floodplain Landscape on the Lednice–Valtice Site
The Deer Park Obelisk landscape is situated on a floodplain of the Dyje River that intersects the Lednice-Valtice site which is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. For centuries this area was regularly flooded every spring. After 1970 the banks of the Dyje River were modified to stop the river from meandering. All its meanders and oxbow lakes were left to dry out and they were filled with earth. The floodplain landscape ceased to exist. The meadows that were regularly flooded before were turned into fields repeatedly ploughed by farmers. The floodplain soil is not suitable for farm crop. The fields did not provide the expected yields and the natural water system was destroyed. The entire ecosystem collapsed. The native plants and animals disappeared. In 2000 a private owner acquired the land plots in the infertile and dry landscape, consolidated them to create an area of 500 ha with the aim of bringing the landscape back as it used to be in the past.
Water system 2.0
Major landscaping works were performed in 2012-19 and the work still continues. The first action was the restoration of the water system infrastructure (2016). The earth was excavated from the former oxbow lakes and they were filled with water using a smart irrigation system. It was necessary to design and build a new 2.0 water system which brings water to the oxbow lakes. This system allows a comprehensive water management in the landscape which simulates the natural process destroyed by the ill-considered human intervention. This is also a reason why the design includes several elevated areas where animals can find refuge in case of flooding.
