Students of architecture assembled huts for KRNAP

Prague - Six cottages for travelers caught in bad weather in the mountains have been designed and built by architecture students from the Czech Technical University in Prague. They presented the results of their work today in front of the faculty building in Dejvice, and from this summer, the huts will serve in the Krkonošsko National Park (KRNAP). This is another project aimed at bringing architecture students closer to real construction work; in the past, they have designed footbridges and staircases.

In the courtyard in front of the faculty building, teams of students have been building the huts according to their own designs since mid-December. "I think it's very important that students have the opportunity to realize what they themselves design, and that it is a unique opportunity. Equally important is that the projects they design themselves will not just be torn down for wood, but will actually serve," said the dean of the Faculty of Architecture of CTU, Ladislav Lábus. "All of them are much sturdier than my cabin on the Sázava," commented the rector of CTU, Vojtěch Petráček, on the cottages.

Bringing students closer to real "hands-on" work was one of the main goals of the project, which was financed by KRNAP. Most designs are single-story, and one resembles a hunting lodge. Two of the six teams deemed it appropriate to design and build a floor in the hut to accommodate more overnight guests. One hut is made of metal and its circular floor plan mirrors a circular bench. Another resembles a space probe.

The results of the students' work will be available to visitors of the Krkonošsko park from this summer at the intersection of hiking trails, for instance, in situations where they cannot continue their journey due to bad weather.