Life Under the Bridge: From Leftover Underspaces to Urban Laboratories
The lecture explores the potential of neglected spaces beneath elevated transport infrastructure – including bridges, viaducts, flyovers – as emerging laboratories for sustainable and inclusive urban transformation. Once dismissed as marginal, these interspaces are now at the forefront of debates on densification, public space, and climate resilience. Drawing on long-term research and an analysis of more than 60 European cases, the lecture outlines key transformation patterns and phased strategies for reprogramming underspaces into multifunctional, socially engaging environments. Special attention is given to design approaches that integrate environmental, social, and economic dimensions – from temporary and cultural uses to long-term adaptive reuse.
Elżbieta Komarzyńska-Świeściak, PhD Eng. Arch., is an architect and assistant professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, where she also serves as Vice-Dean for External Relations. Her research focuses on adaptive reuse, circular transformation of existing buildings, and overlooked urban spaces beneath elevated infrastructure. She is principal investigator in international research and teaching projects and author of expert reports and strategic studies for municipalities and NGOs, working closely with academic and municipal partners in several European countries.
The lecture is in English, is free and open to the public.
Odkaz na FB událost: https://fb.me/e/6tWHiUwoy
26/11 2025 v 18:00 h
Katedra architektury
Ateliér D
Fakulta stavební ČVUT v Praze
Thákurova 7, 166 29 Praha 6
