abandoned (re)creation
Abandoned (re)creation the name of is a long-lasting project, as well as of an artistic duo of the photographer Andrea Kalinová and the architect Martin Zaiček. It was founded in 2011 in the spa town of Trenčianske Teplice, which is well-known for its high concentration of high-quality architecture from the 20th century, although many buildings are crumbling despite being national cultural heritage of European significance.
The most significant and also most endangered building is the Machnáč sanatorium by the architect Jaromír Krejcar, which represents probably the biggest case Slovakia is struggling with regarding the protection of the 20th century architecture. This abandoned national heritage site of international value became the main subject of several artistic and civic activities organized by Andrea Kalinová and Martin Zaiček, who resiliently draw attention to its alarming condition.
In 2018, they published the monograph OFF SEASON dealing with this building, and also the film Po sezóne (Off season) was finished.
In 2014, they gradually started moving into other Slovak spa towns, where they researched and mapped the condition and value of the late modernist sanatoria, mostly designed in the 1960s and 1970s. The project resulted in the book Architecture of Care.
In 2015 they made a one day event, the site-specific installation called Lokokino – – Monument for Mziuri memory as a result of their artist in residence in GeoAir Tbilisi. From 2015 they started research of Georgian spa and recreational architectural heritage. The exhibition Permanent recreation (Literary museum Tbilisi, 2020) followed the processes of its post-traumatic transformations against the backdrop of political and social crises of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.
They also created guides to 20th century architecture in several Slovak towns entitled C20 and recently they published a guide of architecture of Tskaltubo.
