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LUCIE
NAJVAROVÁ

architect

SOCIAL
URBANISM


2014

urbanism
Brno, CZ
~


This project addresses the social exclusion of residents in Brno’s Cejl district through a Social Urbanism strategy that fosters interaction, public space vitality, and new employment opportunities.

The site – too large for a standard block yet too small to function as a city – is restructured through the creation of a central park. This low-cost intervention immediately activates the area, defining public space and establishing an ordering system for future development. The park’s framework allows housing and workshops to emerge freely over time.

The design is intentionally open-ended, functioning in every phase and configuration. Its strategic approach combines top-down planning with bottom-up adaptability, forming a spatial order that is both human-scaled and structurally resilient.

Beyond aesthetics, the project understands the city as an economic system. It seeks to provide a flexible structure that accommodates growth while creating dignified spaces for everyday life and new local opportunities.

SOCIAL
URBANISM


2014

urbanism
Brno, CZ
~


Phase 1 - Park

Phase 1 - Park:

The grid of trees behaves as solid and defines the only unbuildable area
of the block. In the phase 1, the rest of the vast spaces of the block are used
as meadows, sports playgrounds, relax zones and urban gardening.


Phase 2 - Workshops

Phase 2 - Workshops:

In the second phase number of the free areas of the block turn into workshops
run partly by the city and partly by the private owners. The other part of the  plots
is used for providing halfway houses. 


Phase 3 - Housing

Phase 3 - Housing

In the third phase the densifying of the block is complete, besides the small shops
and new business, new housing and flats are added in the block structure.
The building volumes reach till the “solid” made by the trees of the park in the centre. 



The first step is cleaning the block from deteriorating objects and volumes Completion of the vacant sites of the block in order to strengthen the block's identity Areas of the block in ownership of the city Negotiating of the plots within the block allows to unite the inner space of the block and create a passage The elementary grid comes from the historic pattern of the original fields The borders of the inner courtyard in its maximal extent The public space does not emerge as a secondary product of architecture. It is the primary design and serves as a backbone for the functions around Around the central public space, defined by the park, the stripes with program and functions are formed, based on the pattern of the fields

Into a city block – not small enough to be considered as a standard block
and not big enough to be considered as a city – the order is brought:
the grid of trees emerges from the grid of the original fields.
The park fills the vast space in the middle of the block



The trees grow in the planters, used as an outdoor furniture of the park,
allowing to create a dynamic public space 


Phase 1 - Park Phase 2 - Workshops Phase 3 - Housing


Workshops



Inner courtyard

This project addresses the social exclusion of residents in Brno’s Cejl district through a Social Urbanism strategy that fosters interaction, public space vitality, and new employment opportunities.

The site – too large for a standard block yet too small to function as a city – is restructured through the creation of a central park. This low-cost intervention immediately activates the area, defining public space and establishing an ordering system for future development. The park’s framework allows housing and workshops to emerge freely over time.

The design is intentionally open-ended, functioning in every phase and configuration. Its strategic approach combines top-down planning with bottom-up adaptability, forming a spatial order that is both human-scaled and structurally resilient.

Beyond aesthetics, the project understands the city as an economic system. It seeks to provide a flexible structure that accommodates growth while creating dignified spaces for everyday life and new local opportunities.