canadian architect 12/18
42 award of excellence
Škola Smíchov Prague, Czech Republic
Office Ou
Škola Smíchov will be the first new urban public school built in central Prague in nearly a century. The new building will accommodate 540 students aged 6 to 14. It is located within the ambitious Smíchov City redevelopment, which aims to transform 50 acres of former railway lands into a mixed-use community that prioritizes green space, walkability, and a fine-grained urban fabric. The school’s design is guided by the idea of fostering social and environmental stewardship in students, at a scale that expands as they grow: learning to take care of themselves, of their classmates, of the school community, and finally of the wider urban community and natural world. The building supports this by offering opportunities to engage with the city and with nature, so that students can see themselves as part of a larger community and find connections between classroom learning and the outside world. The building is conceived as a simple gridded framework, populated by classrooms, gyms, offices, terraces and gardens. This logic creates a miniature city for children to explore and care for. Constructed from
CA Dec 18.indd 42
glulam timber, the frame formally unifies the building while allowing the diversity and individuality of its program elements to flourish. Individual classrooms are clearly legible within the grid and include balconies that invite public display of student work. Plantings and movable screens shield the classroom windows from solar gain, while summertime passive ventilation and night purging is supported by clerestory windows between every classroom and the corridors, and mechanically controlled vents from the corridors to the courtyards. Internally, the school is organized around a central atrium, with a stair that connects all f loors and lands at the main hall—the central gathering space for the school community. The ground and lower level contain the major shared spaces, including the cafeteria, gyms and club rooms. Level 1 is reserved for younger students, Level 2 is for older students, and Level 3 contains specialty classrooms, each with its own quietly whimsical roof shape. Rooftop terraces and courtyards provide secure play spaces and gardening areas, and bring light deep into the building.
2018-11-21 3:30 PM