Underground City, 1982

An underground garden centre in South Town, an unrealized project situated in the gap which arose by the construction of the metro on the outskirts of Prague, is shown in a plaster model dating from 1982. For years it was kept hidden from the eyes of the people as well as the artist. The close neighbourhood of the blocks of the housing estate and its oblong shape (more than one kilometre long and one hundred meters wide) inspired the artist for a bold project of underground architecture, where the landscape becomes its facade. The undulating belt of greenery with hills, cascades, glass walls and skylights links the above-ground part with the “underground city”. The new models and enamels are based on the original design of organic shaping of space and they emphasize the importance of nature in man’s life.