A place that guarded trade

Every trader who brought goods to Prague had to report it at this location and pay a customs fee, which at the time was called “ungelt” – hence the name of this luxurious corner of Prague. The word “týnský” is derived from the word “otýněný”, which was an old Czech term for “enclosed”.

However, merchants also used the place to rest and enjoy evening entertainment during which nothing could go wrong, because weapons were not allowed past the gate.

Prodej secesní vily 530m², pozemek 946m², Praha 4

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War, reconstruction and new function

Prague grew and trade flourished, but Ungelt was unable to cope. Týnský dvůr functioned as the city’s customs office until 1774, when the shape of the courtyard started to change. Shops, apartments, warehouses and offices were created. World War II had a very adverse impact on the place, and the necessary reconstructions after the war dragged on until the 1990’s.

Today, the place boasts repaired buildings, luxury restaurants and shops. Týn still creates the impression of a closed courtyard, although its gates are always open.

Luxury houses in renaissance, baroque and gothic style

The Ungelt compound now consists of 18 buildings. For instance, you can admire the beautifully painted renaissance Granovský Palace with an arcade loggia. The other buildings are also worth noting. Most of them are gothic with a modified, mainly baroque exterior. 

What makes him exceptional

His work features a characteristic elements, that being the disruption of causality. He works with it and tests when the viewer is capable of connecting seemingly random action without reaction, or reaction without action. He uses the luxurious “motion-capture” technology, deliberately deforming obtained data, where instead of transferring the perfect movements of actors, he brings a chaotic tangle of movements into a virtual space. He also experiments with other possible technologies related to transferring information from the real world into the virtual one. For instance, he randomly shifts events forwards and backwards along a time axis, and works in the same way with objects in space.

Luxury simulations

Cheng promotes the idea of artistic form as “live simulation”. Unlike other art forms engaged in live simulation, Cheng builds on the endless duration and composition of algorithmically generated content, which together produces a certain impression.

Pronájem luxusní vily 7+1, Praha - Západ – 373,

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“Simulations were brought to realisation with the assumed aim of explaining the path of light or proving unknown facts, in order to allow work with various systems and their randomness. But Cheng’s live simulation differs in its aim, the purpose of which is to elevate your emotions, which you cannot influence,” says Ben Vickers, head of digitalisation at Serpentine Galleries.