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Monorail Nusle

Part 2 Project 2014
Matus Sceranka
Czech Technical University Praha | Czech Republic
This project focuses on the most important technical structure built in the Czech Republic in the past century, the Nusle Bridge. This bridge, 500 metres long, spans the valley, facilitating north-south transit through the centre of Prague. Unfortunately, this monumental structure has adversely affected the urban neighbourhood situated in the valley, 40m below the bridge. This project presents a symbiosis of two things: the public transportation system and an object that inspires spatiotemporal and visual experiences.

Prague’s Municipal Council presented an idea for linking the Vysehrad underground station at the south end of the town with the tram stop in Jaromirova Street, situated at the bottom of the Nusle Valley. This would help to facilitate passenger transfer, as currently passengers must contend with 40 metres of vertical distance by way of steps.

In my project I propose to connect the plateaux of the Nusle Valley and its bottom by a suspended monorail system. The rail span is 968 metres and the entire circuit takes 4 minutes. There are 3 stations on the monorail route: Vysehrad, Svatoplukova and Karlov. The supporting structure of the monorail includes a pedestrian path with impressive views of the Nusle Valley, Prague and the Nusle Bridge.

The monorail suspended from the body of the bridge offers a unique opportunity to use the suspension system as a projection screen. After dark, nets stretching between the suspension cables change into a creative surface for artists working with video mapping, light installations or light painting. The structure is fully configurable and can serve as an exhibition space for lighting art, as an experimental studio, or as an educative location for seminars.

I did not choose the Nusle Bridge randomly; my choice was motivated by an effort to aid the damaged Nusle Valley. The construction of the monumental bridge, which absorbed all of its surroundings’ energy, transformed the urban neighbourhood’s atmosphere from a city district situated in a valley to a city’s basement. My project attempts to return at least some of the energy that the north-south thoroughfare appropriated back to the valley and its residential area.

Matus Sceranka

Tutor(s)

2014
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