An apartment building in Karlín is supported by a monumental statue of a woman by David Černý
In Karlín, a giant statue of a woman supports the new building. On the picture of its author David Černý. (October 2, 2022)
| photo:
Petr Topic,
MAFRA
“The small sculptures are composed of small elements that represent the cells of the human body. Just like in life, cells form a body and small parts are assembled to support the larger ones,” explains the artist and sculptor Černý David, who, for example, created for me Franz Kafka’s head climbing or the Žižkov Tower near Národní Strády.
The gradual fitting of the house with sculptures – the giant hands and feet that support the Fragment rental house from the development company – was discovered from July 2022. The installation of the main 35-ton statue of a woman was completed over the weekend. On Saturday, a crane first attached her body to the house, and then on Sunday, her head. The gigantic statue was lying on the adjacent plot, where workers were gradually putting it together.
The production of the sculptures took about two years from the preparation itself. Planning began in 2020, production started in January 2021.
“We brought the first parts to Fragment on July 18 this year. The installation itself took about a quarter of a year,” says Petra Martínková, spokesperson for the Trigema group.
The total weight of the sculptures is up to 60 tons and they are made of stainless steel with a mirror polished surface. The sculptures will be regularly cleaned using climbing equipment.
Fragment is a building with 140 apartments intended for rental housing. The total investment of the project is approximately 1.4 billion, it should be completed in the first quarter of next year.
The house is meant to symbolize human community and its ability to support each other when needed, as well as the power of human belonging.
According to the architects, the shape of the whole building also reflects the site of the historic Invalidovna, opposite which it is located and to which it symbolically pays tribute.