Vu Dinh Quang (2nd year), Daniela Míková (2nd year), and Ondřej Novák (5th year)
Small Architecture for the Big Pond

Studio Suchánek / Janoš

The summer colony around the Big Pond is a strangely charming place.

It is a place with a wild typology of DIY cottages.
It is a place with endlessly long piers.
It is a place with nesting birds.
It is a place with narrow alleys.   
It is a place with a view of the mountains.
It is a place with a dam that does not look like a dam.
It is a place with a fairy-tale Chamber.
It is a place with tracks on which trains pass at eye level.
It is a place with marshes by the pond.
It is a place with a rusty stream.
It is beautiful here.

The Big Pond lacks a regulatory plan that would define clear boundaries for potential growth. Traces of careless parceling from the past have left behind conglomerates of various characteristics. The freedom left to folk creativity can work to a certain extent, but here at the Big Pond, people are beginning to settle permanently in the immediate vicinity of the summer colony. Without context to the surroundings, a satellite town has begun to develop. Its disrespectful character greatly harms the naive constructions around the pond.

From our perspective, it is necessary to prevent expansion into the landscape and strengthen the key points of the Big Pond. The initiation structures we proposed aim to encourage the strengthening of these key places first, thus supporting the connection of people with the given location. We want to be cautious but also strong. From an urban planning perspective, our project is more of a springboard for future territory planning. We placed the greatest emphasis on acupuncture interventions.  

The Big Pond is indeed a large pond. Its development stretches along the northern, southwestern, and southeastern shores. Its vastness is, from one viewpoint, a certain disadvantage in connecting the individual parts of the development. In addition to small buildings at selected places around the Big Pond, we have also designed a circular pier touching the shores of the individual parts, thus supporting their unity. A compact settlement undoubtedly needs to communicate.

(1) At the "beach" between the southeastern and southwestern parts, we proposed an elongated building to cover events held at the Big Pond. Besides a café, a modest boat rental hides within its interiors. A public circular pier runs through the center of the building. This place is the focal point of the entire Big Pond.

(2) The train station also serves as a potential marketplace and promenade directing people from the station towards the circle and the imaginary center of the Big Pond. Its entire length of about eighty meters is part of a circuit around the water surface, thereby facilitating orientation for visitors arriving by train. When exiting onto the platform, it can be crossed and a path leads to one of the public piers, where at the end there is a view of the wide water surface and the longest circular pier. This creates a very impressive first impression.

(3) In the northeastern part, a simple building for observing waterfowl that nest here has been proposed. The building is hidden among the tree crowns on a peninsula protruding from the shore of the pond. 

(4) An orchard stretches across a sloping plot along the route between the bus stop and the beach. Its location allows local residents and passing tourists to pause for a moment and relax with a glass of fresh juice. Part of the juice pavilion is a suspended canvas that creates a pleasant shade for the adjacent terrace.  Behind the canvas lies an apple orchard where visitors can rest under the tree canopies.

(5) The summer cinema is located on the shore of the Big Pond and is one of the stops on the cycling circuit around it. A locked booth stores the projection screen, a counter for the projector, and facilities. The front of the booth tilts upwards, thus creating a roof over a wooden path that runs along the entire western shore of the pond. Wide stairs descend from the path to the water surface, intended for seating for pedestrian visitors. In front of the screen in the water, there are stakes to which boats can be tethered for viewers watching the film from the comfort of their own vessels. The screen is stretched before the projection on a steel frame firmly embedded in the water surface. 

(6) The Forest Pond Chamber is a hidden romantic spot near the Big Pond. The water surface is surrounded by mature trees that create a boundary from the outside world. At one shore, a concrete pedestal protrudes from the water, serving as an overflow. On the pedestal sits a wooden box with one glazed wall facing the water. The box serves as a self-service sauna and a place for contemplation.

(7) The Big Pond is characterized by piers sometimes up to 80m long, but for the most part, they are only for the landowners from which they extend. Therefore, we decided to design public piers at selected locations for anyone who desires them.

(8) The gazebo is a small structure located several times around the perimeter of the Big Pond. It creates stopping and meeting points for passersby and athletes. It is a simple construction with a flat roof and a bench for resting. Two walls are made of trellis.

(9) The accommodation above the water surface is directly accessible from the circular pier. It consists of eleven wooden cabins with a square floor plan with a side length of four meters. Accessing the first of two floors from the walkway allows for a ground floor to always exist just above the water. Three basic types of cabins were created, alternating with each other.
The first cabin, which is only found here once, is the reception, where the management of accommodation is located on the first floor, and on the second, there is a storage area for items like bed linens.
The second type is classic accommodation for two to four people. Here, the living room is on the first floor and the bedroom is on the second. From the ground floor, one can board a boat that comes with each cabin. The private pier is accessible only through a hatch in each individual cabin. There are eight accommodation cabins along the pier, so the accommodation capacity ranges from 16 to 32 people.
The last is a sanitary booth, which contains the sanitary facilities for the accommodation. There are toilets here, and on the upper floor, showers. Waste is managed using a small chemical treatment plant stored on the ground floor of this cabin. There are two of these cabins in total.
They are spaced fifteen meters apart so that each sanitary facility is always at most one cabin's distance away, thus around thirty meters. The order is reception - 2x accommodation - sanitation - 4x accommodation - sanitation - 2x accommodation.
Each cabin is equipped with a miller's staircase for economical use of space, and the facilities are overall rather modest. The living room includes a small wood stove for heating during the cooler periods.

(10) The bus stop is located about ten meters from where passengers used to board towards Hroznětín. It is a simple wooden structure with a bench partially shielded from the wind. The stop includes mailboxes.

(11) Currently, due to the poor state of water in the Big Pond, a flooded quarry halfway between the Big Pond and Ruprechtov is being used. To enhance the bathing experience, we designed a lapidary pier with changing rooms.

(12) See Ruprechtov

(13) One of the tourist paths leads through the village of Ruprechtov. At the village square, a turnoff directs towards the local hill Ostrý vrch. It is one of the highest hills in the vicinity of the Big Pond. Therefore, it is no surprise that the proposed observation tower is located here. Its structure is based on a square floor plan and derived from a 4x4 module. The staircase is a wooden stringer type and consists of seventy-two steps.

The construction of the newly designed wooden structures is based on the principle of a wooden puzzle of simple shapes and joints. Individual pieces consist of the supporting structure beams, steel connections, and possible infills. The partial beams are made of larch wood and form the basic parts of the puzzle. The structures have a module of 2x2, 2x4, or 4x4, which is continuously repeated and unites all the structures. The structural joints are designed as welded steel sheets in the shape of “T” or “L.” The steel connections will be secured with M10 screws. The structure is based on stone footings secured using the aforementioned steel connections in the shape of “T.” The resulting skeleton can be filled with various panels or left empty. The skeletal construction ideologically relies on simplicity and formability. Its use is therefore very flexible and can be utilized for all needs of the Big Pond.