Asylum House, Hospital and Research Station in Iceland. FA Invites to Semester Showcase of Studio Work

Up to 1,500 exhibited works address topics such as the housing crisis, adaptation to climate change, or the sustainable handling of architectural heritage. Students also explore new uses for neglected urban locations. Petr Hájek, whose concert hall of the Imperial Baths in Karlovy Vary has currently fought its way onto the shortlist for this year's Mies van der Rohe Awards, assigned the students the design of a research station near a volcano in Iceland. In the right atrium of the FA, an exhibition space was created on the "house within a house" principle, where an autonomous object – in this case, an ice cube – is inserted into the existing architecture. Its shape evokes a mass of melting ice and refers directly to the Icelandic landscape, glaciers, and the variability of their current state. The installation guides the observer to reflect on global warming, climate change, and the gradual disappearance of glaciers.

The guest studio for emerging architects Havlová–Nikerle set out this time to Most, specifically to the area of the former cavalry barracks – one of the few preserved buildings of the original old town. The goal of the students was to search for a form of conversion of the site into a place of attractive and affordable housing, public amenities, and a local center.

Students of the Juha–Tuček studio followed up on the urban concept of a new district in Prague's Letňany, which, in addition to residential buildings, will also include a new metropolitan hospital, a university campus, and basic civic amenities. In the winter semester, the students refined the concept of the hospital into greater detail regarding the architectural and operational solutions.

An important social topic was also opened this semester by the Tesař–Barla studio. After prisons, the students this time focused on people experiencing homelessness or in other difficult life situations. They worked with four locations in Prague's Kobylisy, Chodov, Modřany, and Řepy, and supplemented the urban structure with residential and asylum houses.

The 546 studio (Miroslav Pazdera, David Budil) focused on finding ways to use the Czech embassy building. The building by the architects Machonin is among the extraordinary realizations of the 60s and 70s, which were created within the diplomatic ambitions of the then Czechoslovakia. Similarly to other embassies from this era, its volume is oversized for current use. The students proposed possibilities of how to work with the iconic building to create a balanced relationship between diplomatic operations, the cultural activities of the Czech Center, and the long-term perspective of a viable use of the object. From the faculty, the projects will move to the Prostora gallery for the exhibition Spaceship Enterprise, dedicated to the embassy building.

The landscape studio Jeníková–Štemberová–Trpkoš dealt with the left bank of the Vltava, specifically the territory of Barrandov, Zlíchov, and Smíchov. The students dedicated the semester to finding ways to connect the city and the river, focusing on issues of permeability, biodiversity, new forms of recreation, and the involvement of historical and industrial landmarks in the overall identity of the area. They collaborated with the Hofmeister–Liska studio on the assignment.

The design studio Šulc chose a chair as the semester assignment. A topic processed many times, yet every generation of designers looks for its own opinion on how to approach the theme. Students used the space to search for shape, material, and a new approach, but also to explore the needs of people with specific needs and handicaps.

Forms, molds, and sandcastle shapes were designed this semester by the first-year design studio Jaroš. The students created sets of elements inspired by architecture and intended for play in the sandbox. All with an emphasis on creativity and quality of processing.

The exhibition of studio works can be visited until February 6, 2026, daily from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Entrance is barrier-free and free of charge. All projects created by students of the FA CTU can also be viewed online, the first years have their own web gallery.