Spaceships were meant to fly

During a visit to my birthplace, Liberec, the Czech Republic, my brother and I once again made a trip to one extraordinary building. That particular building lies in the hearts of every citizen of Liberec. It is a symbol of our city.  And it was built ‘only’ 44 years ago. However, 44 years ago, that was the era of communism. What great building could come from these hard conditions, when the communist party influenced nearly every aspect of life?

Come with us.

The place where the building is located is remote. We had to go by foot. Through woods. The other option would be to use a cable car.

The city was way down below us. That also means, that this mysterious building lies on the top of the mountain.

We are nearly at the top. The city below is Liberec. It looks so tiny. Like a LEGO houses on our palms.

And at the very top. Hotel and broadcasting tower. Ještěd Tower. Hundred meters tall, standing at 1012 meters above sea level, overlooking the whole city. Shaped as a hyperboloid to naturally extend the silhouette of the mountain and to resist harsh wind. Designed by Karel Hubáček and awarded Perret prize, it is one of the most important buildings of the Czech Republic.

And it is important to me. I made the trip up the hill many times. The building was there when I was born and it is visible from nearly every part of the city. It was a beacon at night. It was a point to know the direction. It was an end point of New Years trip for many years. It was a challenging climb under the cables of the cable car, steep ascend to the top. It was a winter snowboarding. I cannot count how many times I was there. Even though, every time, the journey is remarkable and the tower is magnificent and I am amazed as soon as I get there.

The building itself consist of a reinforced concrete core. Exterior is clad either in aluminium panels or laminate, in order not to disturb broadcasting. Bottom part serves as a restaurant, middle part is reserved for a hotel and the uppermost part is for broadcasting.

Contemporary concrete is usually made as smooth as possible. However, it can also be the other way. Expose as much as possible of rough aggregate. That goes well together with the harsch conditions which are persistant especially during winter time, when the whole mountains are covered in snow.

Similar detail. This time in interior. Ribbed concrete with exposed aggregate.

Important part of the building is also the art. Little known fact is, that during communist era, 2 % of the budget of a building had to be spent on art. Below you can see beautiful glass sculpture. Its name is ‘The fall of meteorites’.

I don’t know if I could capture the essence of the building in few pictures and five hundred words. But I tried. Building visited is always worth more than just a sole description. Even though I hope you get a glimpse of how this building is imposing and what it means to me.

Cheers