Pinkyway

CTU in Prague - Faculty of Architecture

Project idea

A goal of our concept is to connect the Freiberg University campus with one unifying element which defines a public space. It responds to a circulation of movement, highlights the most significant buildings and areas and joins the focus.
The element - a path - varies depending on the needs of each location. It responds to the current situation of the campus while creating new opportunities.

Project description

TU Bergakademie Freiberg is one of the oldest mining universities in the world. It has around 4 300 students and over 2 000 employees. It consists of six faculties: Mathematics and Informatics, Chemistry, Biology and Physics, Geoscience, Geoengineering and Mining, Mechanical Engineering, Material sciences, and Economics.
The university campus is located on the northwest outskirts of the city. It occupies approximately the same area as the historical city center. Although the Freiberg University adds importance to the city, the campus itself lacks attractiveness. There are several reasons why the campus does not live up to its potential. For example, a division of the campus by a busy road into two parts or an unclear pedestrian connection of the area with the rest of the city gives a chaotic impression. Other problems are a lack of overall spatial conception, a discontinuity of individual sections or unclear indication of the beginning and the ending of the area.

the pink way

we create a distinctive flat medium that solves several problems at once – it gives the campus its own identity and better arrangement, balances and combines both parts of the area and creates a new lively quarter that is attractive not only for students but also for city residents.

Freiberg consists of multiple districts, each of them with different urban plan and purpose. The campus is located next to the historical center and interferes it with several university buildings. The idea is to differentiate the university area from the other parts of the city but still allow the campus to be accessible and visible to people from all directions.

We perceive the university area as a center of new generation that is leading us towards a bright future thanks to its scientific discoveries and quality education. Therefore, we design a modern monumental pedestrian zone as an equivalent to the picturesque historical center and combine it with features fulfilling the needs of university students. Thus, the zone will serve university purposes while reflecting the city in a distinctive way with its own pubic centers and different structure.

Frequent Leipziger Strasse divides the campus into two separate parts. Besides the barrier, the college is further split due to an imbalance of buildings’ purposes and utilities on each side. One part includes dormitories, library, canteen, thus it mostly serves to social purposes, the other is very lifeless and lacks social space. There are multiple problematic spots inside the campus which at the same time have a lot of potentials. These spots will become an important focal point of the PinkyWay, whether they will become a center of the piece, the main meeting point, a recreational area or sports field.

for visitors or freshmen, the campus seems chaotic and it is easy to get lost and confused. The way starts at the edge of the historic town and leans throw the campus, including important parts and university facilities. Pinkyway creates new easy connections between buildings, derives from current paths within the campus and is linked to the secondary system of pathways. Following the pinky way, you can not get lost.

Technical information

The medium transforms itself into roads, sidewalks, ramps, stairs, terraces, furniture or separate houses.
The PinkyWay is made of various pink-colored materials, mainly concrete with different admixtures. Concrete is carved up by narrow expansion joints to resist deformation. These troughs also work as drainage and water is equally distributed to greenery and lakes.

By the selected shape and color, we refer to the mining of rare-earth minerals which motivated the foundation of the university. This way we demonstrate to everyone who enters the campus the origins of the university and reminds the fact that these minerals are of exceptional value for the whole region.

Co-authors

Yana Metenko, Anna Králová

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