Status: competition

Project year: 2019

Authors: Gábor Kovács, Dávid Nyúl, Ladislav Vikartovský, Gábor Nagy

At present, the empty and undeveloped area around the building of Academy of fine arts and design is solved. An area of an 36,000 square meters offers great potential for creating student lifestyle and living in the form of a “campus”. The new complex will be a major investment and will serve the students for many decades. The basis of the urban solution was the functional division of the complex and its ideal connection to the existing transport system of the city of Bratislava.

The incorporation of new pavilions into the urban structure is addressed to a wider context of urban relations, which are reflected in the proposal of connecting the area with convenient solutions in public transport and pedestrian ways, logical distribution of functions in the area and creation of an adequate front-line with parameters of the public space. The complex of the new campus of the art school is divided into two stages of construction. The first stage involves the construction of a technological pavilion, accommodation and catering facilities and a common underground car park. The second stage will be a training pavilion with paintings and architecture studios, lecture hall and rectorate.

The pavilion of technology and the accommodation are situated in the northern part of the property, alongside of the existing building of Academy of fine arts and design. There is a public space between the pavilions, the preposition of the two adjacent pavilions is designed as a gathering space. In the area in question, the design includes a presentation of student work, such as an exhibition of sculptures and other works of art. This new structure from the southern side directly follows the building of Academy of fine arts and design. A very important part of the campus is its park. The solution was to design it as an outdoor space for relaxation and meeting around the complex. The park is complemented by free spaces for cultural and social events. There are wooden benches under the trees for students who enjoy being outside.

The cornerstone of the park is the outgoing exterior stairway that leads students and staff from the park and the street to the entrance to the individual pavilions. Through the staircase there is secure access to the ground floor of the technological pavilion and the accommodation from the level of Drotárska Street and the bus stop.

In the proposal, we tried to create a readable concept at first glance. The building has an open three-lane structure that is suitable for receiving any function. We gently stroked this simple mass in the rising terrain, creating a building that does not disturb the character of the surrounding area but complements it. From the point of view of disposition, we tried to create a simple and an easy operation in transparency. Our main goal was to create ideal study spaces to improve the current conditions. A fundamental change, compared to the current faculty of the school, is an open disposition that offers a number of flexible spaces for mutual cooperation.

The main entrance to the pavilion is situated from the east side directly from the grain-growing area. The hall of the central entrance, so called vestibule, is located in the central ship, passing through three floors. This space connects the individual centers of the technological pavilion. The light is coming from above and lights up the interior, so it can relieve its space. The vestibule is located so there will be no collisions for the students, visitors and staff of the complex. Wood processing centre, surface finishing centre, center of division, welding and metal processing, modeling center and drying room are located on the first floor, where they meet the requirements for easy access from the outside. Entrance to the background is from the west, as well as the supply of the existing building of Academy of fine arts and design. The second floor is dedicated to the Audiovisual center. On the 3rd floor of the pavilion there are restoration workshops, photo processing workshops and textile processing centre.

The main entrance to the building is oriented to the west side. The central area of the entrance part of the building is the vestibule, which is connected with the dining room, kitchen, porter and sanitary facilities. In the accommodation part are 53 separate cells with a capacity of 212 students. The cells consist of two double rooms, from their own bathrooms and toilets. The complex of the first stage has a total of 6 floors (2 underground and 4 ground floors – accommodation, 3 ground floors – technological pavilion).

The minimalist appearance of buildings is achieved not only by the simplification of the mold but also by the inertia of the materials. The facade of the buildings is made of visible concrete supplemented with aluminum glazed surfaces and a wall system. The design is based on the solution of the facade of the existing building, which is based on a horizontal raster.The learning pavilion has four floors. On the ground floor of the building is a lecture hall, which leans into the entrance hall, on the 2nd and 3rd floors are situated the individual studios of the school. The studios are well-lit and offer inspirational views of the city. On the 4th floor of the educational pavilion there are the premises of the Rectorate and administration centre of the school.