INHABIT THE COURT - STU CAMPUS

USEK - Holy spirit University of Kaslik

Project idea

Bratislava is a city which is rich in its history and culture. Public spaces and O-shaped courtyards are the city's best-known cultural features. But nowadays, the interest of the citizens is diverted towards the shopping centers and the Malls…. So in my design I aim to revalue public spaces but in a futuristic way; by creating scenographic spaces in each public place or courtyard like the STU campus while forming an ambulatory theater in the city. To meet this strategy, I opt to create an ephemeral architectural system, which can be dismantled and reassembled, therefore a PLUG-IN architecture.

Project description

In the intervention which is in the courtyard of the STU, this system (PLUG-IN) is used but in a way that allows us to inhabit the courtyard in a light way. First, the plug-in system consists of scaffolding (carbon steel) on a 4x4 frame which is compatible with the size of the yard. The project must have a minimal impact on the courtyard and especially on the ground floor where the main courtyard is located. So the scaffolding is on the periphery of all the space inside this courtyard thus creating a porosity between the university and the project. To give great value to the court extensions the court is formed but in a vertical manner; therefore the notion of a ZIGGURAT, a 3 dimensional courtyard, where the interaction is consequently done on several levels.
At each corner of the project are fixed parts (bodies) which form the main functions having as concept "SERVI-SERVANT" LOUIS KAHN. The serving parts are the PLUG in which are removable and changeable according to the events and the needs of the university. This system continues to form a tower which is a projection of the existing university tower. Finally, the circulation is on the periphery of each floor.

Technical information

Technologically the project works in an intelligent way; the electrochromic windows (smart glass) transform the solar rays into heat which enter the scaffolding where there are thermoelectric devices which transform the heat into electricity. The last step is at the level of each floor where the slabs are smart and working on the number of people in each floor to light it up.