2020
author
Sára Hammadová (SK)
title
United Colors of Beton
degree
B.A. project
school
Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava
supervisor
doc. Mgr. art. Palo Bálik
The title is a play on words: betón means “concrete” in Slovak. The project presents the new identity of Bratislava, which has been formed over the decades since mid-20th century, alongside the construction of new blocks of flats and their thermal renovation. The designer took a closer look at the individual districts to find out if the process of building insulation formed a logical system. She drew up documentation for the districts and created a pattern book based on them. This constituted a starting point for developing a wayfinding system to organise the colourful concrete jungle. Her next idea was to design a line of clothing on that basis. All in all, the colours and arrangement of the buildings turned out to be random and the development of a coherent system was too complicated. Eventually, the author decided to design a series of abstract collages presenting patterns which are characteristic for a given area. As a result, she created a form of virtual reality where everything is “thermally modernised” and serves as a pretext for further discussion on the city aesthetics.