Cooperation: Studio DK ARCHITEKTI
Team: David Kudla, Filip Malý, Andrea Fabiánová + Petr Dub
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Investor: Dopravní podnik města Prahy
Invited competition.
The CAPS LOCK artistic intervention works with two main principles: colour expression and typographic play. The design honours the tradition of historically distinctive Prague metro stations (Malostranská, Staroměstská, etc.) visually based on purist design and yet timeless genius loci. CAPS LOCK aims to be a distinctive index enabling a new quality in a development without a distinctive social identity, while not being invasive to the dominant function of the station.
The first conceptual value is represented by the work with the letter “Z”, a typographically harmonious character. The letter “Z” may be read as the signature of the literary cord of the aristocratic cavalier Zorro, the modernistic slashed canvas of Lucio Fontana, or quite simultaneously as the graffiti tag of Zličín teenagers. The “Z” is a signal to those passing by: “You are passing a metro station.” For those getting off, it is a sign of home, and a place to have a date on the way to the centre. But time is relentlessly fast, technical and full of shortcuts. If you are texting for coffee at D.ZLIČÍN, you could easily find your keyboard typing: D.ZLI49N!
In terms of art and graphics, the text develops the work with the basic yellow colour, which in itself is not only distinctive but also an identifying feature of Line B. The hues of yellow are carried over into the generous, purely geometric skylights, using natural light as the essential optical and sculptural quality of the designed space. The elemental circular forms soften the rectangular structure of the station, while their rotation maximises the effect of the varying natural light during the day. In the evening, artificial light takes over the role of the impresario, accentuating the warm tones of yellow in contrast with the cold shades of the concrete.
The CAPS LOCK – D.ZLI49N project is a minimalist reflection of the present reflecting its social dynamics, the associated environmental urgency through the inexpensiveness of the selected artistic approach and the pitfalls of our contemporary communication.