The Educational Centre Podhůra

According to the brief “the building itself should be an exhibit” and should be in “harmonic balance”. Based on these demands, we decided to use mainly local natural materials and to present them in an unusual way. We designed the building as a combination of solid wooden logs and concrete construction. In the interior, the logs leave their imprint in the concrete, in the exterior they form a covering layer of inverted rooftop layers. The sloping facade also acts as a place to sit on, when the visitors wish to enjoy landscape views, or it is potentially a place for an exhibition outside. Stone for cladding of the plinth and also for floor in the interior was obtained in a nearby quarry. The longitudinal volume is divided into three main parts (based on the brief) which are connected with a longitudinal hallway along the whole south side. The main entrance situated on the east side leads to a hall, where an interior exhibition, reception, souvenirs sale and public facilities are located. From the hall it is possible to go through right into the educational part or to the south, where outside exhibitions are located. The educational part consists of a workshop-room, a lecture-hall and necessary facilities. Next to the educational part lies the operating section and an apartment for a caretaker. The building has its basement in the northwest, where it uses the sloping terrain to create a space for all the “dirty” rooms for operating the object. The entrance to the basement and garage is located on the west side.