ARCHIP 2.0 DANIELA ALVAREZ CECILIANO
ARCHIP 2.0
DANIELA ALVAREZ CECILIANO ARCHITECTURAL INSTITUTE IN PRAGUE AD 4 PALAŠČÁK/ŠIMONOVÁ STUDIO 2017
ARCHIP 2.0 ABSTRACT
Architectural Institute in Prague (ARCHIP) currently spends a big percentage of its budget on rent. This project‘s goal is to design a school for potentially 150 students, with an interesting spatial concept which supports positive social change and brings culture and education to the area; a building that is affordable and presents ARCHIP as an open institution. The project is placed at Z-shaped plot no. 348/1 opposite Nadraží Holešovice metro station; a plot that is neighbour to a high school, a primary school, a kindergarten, a hotel and a big complex to be, called Visionary. This plot was chosen in cooperation with Lenka Burgerová (Council member of the District of Prague 7 for development and architecture), taking into consideration that it is not suitable for extensive development, but very suitable for a small public building such as a school. The challenge this plot represents is that Metro line C partly crosses the plot and the station is 7 meters below ground level, meaning that neither a heavy building nor big foundations are possible.
ARCHIP 2.0 THE CONCEPT
ARCHIP is the only college of architecture in Eastern Europe to offer a complete 3-year Bachelor‘s program in English. With students with around 20 different nationalities, it is a space where different cultures, religions and points of view converge, giving place to an extremely creative environment. The gathering space, where all the ideological, cultural and creative exchange happens, becomes the heart of the school. From this idea, the concept of AGORA emerges. This open public space intends to become a part of the urban spot, rising as an extension of the street and inviting the public to become part of ARCHIP‘s community. Two buildings facing each other, frame the heart of the project: the agora. Bridges are added to connect both buildings allowing the agora‘s activity grow vertically; alongside, these bridges embrace and take the shaft‘s shape, seeking to become the school‘s landmark. The proposed layout can be reproduced along the rest of the plot and future developments in Prague, creating a series of public paralel spaces flanked by private buildings.
ARCHIP 2.0 PROGRAM
The project consists of two rectangular buildings that face the agora. The first one, a three-storey building, is house of the most public and administrative areas of the school. A public gallery, an open cafeteria and a library are located here. The second building is a more private space, in which both lecture rooms and studios are located thoughout four floors; the ground floor is where the fab lab, workshop and store are located. In both buildings there is a transition from busy to quiet/ private spaces as the user goes up, allowing a wide mixture of activities and a great diversity of users.
Studios
Lecture Rooms
Art Studio
Administrative Offices
Meeting Rooms Library Store Cafeteria Workshop-Fab Lab Gallery
ARCHIP 2.0 STRUCTURE AND MATERIALITY
The structure consists on a series of steal beams and columns placed according to an established modulation, forming rigid frames that carry the whole building. The modules allow the building to be flexible by offering a series of wide spaces that can be changed according to new needs. Considering how important it is for an architecture student to interact with materials in order to learn to manipulate them, as well as getting to a deep understanding of how structures work, it is intended that this building offers such. The visible structure and the raw materials not only allow the project to be affordable, but it gives students a deep sense of what architecture is about. Circulations, both vertical and horizontal are the elements that bring the parts of the project together. A steel grid is the perfect material to allow both light and activity converge in one single big space.
ARCHIP 2.0
Section A-A’ 1:200
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Section B-B’ 1:200
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East Elevation 1:200
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North Elevation 1:200
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ARCHIP 2.0
DANIELA ALVAREZ CECILIANO ARCHIP AD 4 2017