Alison Killing: There’s a better way to die, and architecture can help

Translator: Lucia Daubnerova Reviewer: Ivana Kopisova

I'd like to tell you a story about death and architecture.

Chcela by som vám rozpovedať príbeh o smrti a architektúre.

A hundred years ago, we tended to die of infectious diseases like pneumonia,

Pred 100 rokmi sa umieralo na nákazlivé choroby

that, if they took hold, would take us away quite quickly.

ako zápal pľúc, ktoré, keď sa nezastavili, s nami rýchlo skoncovali.

We tended to die at home, in our own beds, looked after by family,

Obyčajne sa umieralo doma v posteli, kde sa o umierajúcich starala ich rodina.

although that was the default option

Bolo to bežné, lebo mnohí

because a lot of people lacked access to medical care.

nemali prístup k zdravotnej starostlivosti.

And then in the 20th century a lot of things changed.

Neskôr, v 20. storočí, sa veľa zmenilo.

We developed new medicines like penicillin

Vyvinuli sa nové lieky ako penicilín

so we could treat those infectious diseases.

a takéto infekčné choroby sa dali liečiť.

New medical technologies like x-ray machines were invented.

Vyvinuli sa nové technológie ako röntgen.

And because they were so big and expensive,

Nakoľko tieto prístroje boli veľké a drahé,

we needed large, centralized buildings to keep them in,

boli potrebné veľké centralizované budovy,

and they became our modern hospitals.

ktoré sa premenili na dnešné nemocnice.

After the Second World War,

Po 2. svetovej vojne si mnohé krajiny

a lot of countries set up universal healthcare systems

zriadili všeobecné zdravotné poistenie,

so that everyone who needed treatment could get it.

aby všetci mohli dostávať potrebnú starostlivosť.

The result was that lifespans extended from about 45 at the start of the century

Výsledkom bolo,

že priemerná dĺžka života vzrástla z približne 45 rokov na začiatku storočia

to almost double that today.

na takmer dvojnásobok dnes.

The 20th century was this time of huge optimism about what science could offer,

20. storočie bolo plné optimizmu o tom, čo veda dokáže ponúknuť,

but with all of the focus on life, death was forgotten,

ale so všetkou pozornosťou upriamenou na život

sme zabudli na smrť,

even as our approach to death changed dramatically.

dokonca sa dramaticky zmenilo aj to, ako ju vnímame.

Now, I'm an architect,

Som architektka

and for the past year and a half I've been looking at these changes

a pozorovala som tieto zmeny posledný rok a pol.

Rozmýšľala som, čo znamenajú pre architektúru

and at what they mean for architecture related to death and dying.

a jej vzťah so smrťou.

We now tend to die of cancer and heart disease,

Dnes sa umiera na rakovinu a srdcové choroby

and what that means is that many of us will have a long period of chronic illness

a to znamená, že mnohí

budeme ku koncu života dlho trpieť chronickými chorobami.

at the end of our lives.

During that period,

Pravdepodobne strávime veľa času v nemocniciach, hospicoch a domovoch.

we'll likely spend a lot of time in hospitals and hospices and care homes.

Now, we've all been in a modern hospital.

Všetci sme boli v nemocnici.

You know those fluorescent lights and the endless corridors

Poznáme tie fluorescentné svetlá, nekonečné chodby

and those rows of uncomfortable chairs.

a rady nepohodlných stoličiek.

Hospital architecture has earned its bad reputation.

Nemocničná architektúra má právom zlú povesť.

But the surprising thing is, it wasn't always like this.

Prekvapujúce je, že nie vždy to tak bolo.

This is L'Ospedale degli Innocenti, built in 1419 by Brunelleschi,

Toto je L'Ospedale degli Innocenti, ktorú postavil v roku 1419 Brunelleschi,

who was one of the most famous and influential architects of his time.

jeden z najslávnejších a najvplyvnejších architektov tej doby.

And when I look at this building and then think about hospitals today,

Keď vidím túto stavbu a pomyslím na dnešné nemocnice,

what amazes me is this building's ambition.

prekvapuje ma jej ambicióznosť.

It's just a really great building.

Je to skutočne veľkolepá stavba.

It has these courtyards in the middle

V strede sú dvory,

so that all of the rooms have daylight and fresh air,

aby mali všetky izby denné svetlo a čerstvý vzduch,

and the rooms are big and they have high ceilings,

izby sú veľké, s vysokými stropmi

so they just feel more comfortable to be in.

a vďaka tomu pohodlnejšie pre pacientov.

And it's also beautiful.

Je aj krásna.

Somehow, we've forgotten that that's even possible for a hospital.

Nejako sme zabudli, že slová krásna a nemocnica môžu stáť pri sebe.

Now, if we want better buildings for dying, then we have to talk about it,

Ak však chceme lepšie miesta na smrť, musíme o nej hovoriť.

Smrť je ťažká téma,

but because we find the subject of death uncomfortable,

we don't talk about it,

a preto o nej nehovoríme

and we don't question how we as a society approach death.

a nespochybňujeme spôsob, akým k nej spoločnosť pristupuje.

Jedna z vecí, ktoré ma pri mojom výskume najviac prekvapili,

One of the things that surprised me most in my research, though,

is how changeable attitudes actually are.

bolo do akej miery sú naše postoje náchylné na zmenu.

This is the first crematorium in the U.K.,

Toto je prvé krematórium vo Veľkej Británii

which was built in Woking in the 1870s.

postavené vo Workingu okolo roku 1870.

And when this was first built, there were protests in the local village.

Keď ho postavili, obyvatelia protestovali.

Cremation wasn't socially acceptable, and 99.8 percent of people got buried.

Kremáciu spoločnosť neprijímala. Pochovávalo sa 99,8 % mŕtvych.

And yet, only a hundred years later, three quarters of us get cremated.

Dnes, iba 100 rokov odvtedy, sa podrobí kremácii 75 % mŕtvych.

People are actually really open to changing things

Ľudia sú v skutočnosti zmene otvorení, keď im o nej dovolíme hovoriť.

if they're given the chance to talk about them.

So this conversation about death and architecture

Tento rozhovor o smrti a architektúre

was what I wanted to start when I did my first exhibition on it

som chcela začať,

keď som o tejto téme zorganizovala moju prvú výstavu v júni v Benátkach,

in Venice in June, which was called "Death in Venice."

ktorú som nazvala „Smrť v Benátkach“.

It was designed to be quite playful

Mala byť hravá

so that people would literally engage with it.

a návštevníci sa mali, doslova, zabaviť.

This is one of our exhibits, which is an interactive map of London

Toto je jeden z predmetov, interaktívna mapa Londýna,

that shows just how much of the real estate in the city

ktorá ukazuje, koľko mestskej zástavby je venovanej smrti.

is given over to death and dying,

and as you wave your hand across the map,

Keď prejdete prstom po mape,

the name of that piece of real estate, the building or cemetery, is revealed.

objaví sa názov objektu, budovy alebo cintorína.

Ďalšia časť expozície bol rad pohľadníc,

Another of our exhibits was a series of postcards

that people could take away with them.

ktoré si mohli návštevníci vziať.

And they showed people's homes and hospitals

Boli to fotografie domovov, nemocníc, cintorínov a márnic

and cemeteries and mortuaries,

and they tell the story of the different spaces

a rozprávali príbeh týchto priestorov,

that we pass through on either side of death.

do ktorých sa dostaneme pred smrťou či po smrti.

We wanted to show that where we die

Chceli sme ukázať, že miesto smrti

is a key part of how we die.

ovplyvňuje, ako zomrieme.

Now, the strangest thing was the way that visitors reacted to the exhibition,

To najzvláštnejšie bola reakcia návštevníkov na výstavu,

especially the audio-visual works.

hlavne na audiovizuálnu časť.

We had people dancing and running and jumping

Niektorí tancovali, behali a skákali

as they tried to activate the exhibits in different ways,

s cieľom aktivovať diela rôznymi spôsobmi.

and at a certain point they would kind of stop

V istom momente sa zastavili a spomenuli si,

and remember that they were in an exhibition about death,

že sú na výstave o smrti

and that maybe that's not how you're supposed to act.

a že sa od nich možno takéto správanie neočakáva.

But actually, I would question whether there is one way

Ja by som sa spýtala, či exituje spôsob,

that you're supposed to act around death,

ako by sme sa mali správať v súvislosti so smrťou.

and if there's not, I'd ask you to think about what you think a good death is,

Ak neexistuje, požiadala by som ich, aby si premysleli,

čo považujú za dobrú smrť,

aká architektúra by im k dobrej smrti mohla napomôcť

and what you think that architecture that supports a good death might be like,

and mightn't it be a little less like this and a little more like this?

a či by tam malo byť trochu menej tohto

a trochu viac tohto.

Thank you.

Ďakujem.

(potlesk)

(Applause)