In Aš, on the Czech-German border, Prague firm SOA Architekti has completed a project connecting past and present. Near the town center, the 11½-acre Park of Memories Aš links an urban square with a nearby forest, creating a transition between the different areas, each with their own historical weight. After World War II and the Cold War, when much of the Czech population fled, Aš experienced another wave of devastation in the ’70’s, when swaths of it, including its largest cemetery, were demolished to make way for new housing.
The park reintroduces the cultural identity of Aš via physical and digital means. At the entry, a granite plaza dotted with benches and square cutouts, each planted with a Tilia cordata, the Czech national tree, provides a place for meeting or reflection. A smaller granite plinth near what remains of the cemetery has smaller recesses for candles. Curving through is a 110-foot-long elevated bridge in steel and locally sourced pine. “It connects the site of the original church to the tree line winding through the cemetery,” explains Štefan Šulek, copartner of SOA (which stands for sons of architecture). Park of Memories is also linked with Time Trip, an app that provides information on the city’s past and the park’s interactive points. “Rather than force history upon the visitor,” Šulek adds, “the design offers a chance to experience nature from a different perspective.”
