To mark the 100th anniversary of the Teacher Training College (02-22), its management decided to revitalize the courtyard adjoining the building, as viewed from Smetana Square, and accessible from the narrow alleyway leading to Vodní Valy Street. Therefore, in 2004, the design studio Burian-Křivinka was entrusted with the task of transforming the unappealing, asphalt-paved courtyard, used as a car-park, into an attractive activity corner for students and the wider public. The school had previously cooperated successfully with the studio on the recently-finished student hostel at Černá Hora (03-1071). Moreover, the studio had been dealing with alterations to public spaces within the town since the mid-1990s (01-VP4, 01-VP5, 01-VP8).
The design is based on pure geometric lines and unfolds from the central axis of the rear facade of the school with its entrance, opposite which the architects installed a modernist fountain surrounded by a lawn. The remaining surface is paved with split granite cobblestones. The courtyard features a wooden pergola with climbing plants and custom-made, uniquely-shaped folding wooden loungers. The courtyard is separated from the alleyway with a steel fence, whose widely-spaced, angled posts make it look more like an artwork than “fortifications” between public and private spaces.
Thus, the architects were successful in creating a pleasant environment which, in spite of the ever-present geometric simplicity, appears neither austere nor severe.
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