| ARCHITECT | VYŠEHRAD Atelier, Prague |
| YEAR COMPLETED | 2008 |
| PHOTOGRAPHY | Filip Šlapal (as indicated); Courtesy of the Architects (others) |
| LOCATION | Prague, Czech Republic |
| PANELITE PRODUCT | Bonded Series Starlight-type panel B-ECGOS-21 Honeycomb Core: Expanded Clear polymer Facings: Olive Green Satin |
| Installation System | CUSTOM: 21mm (13/16″) thick panels are mounted to steel support structure using Very High Bond double-sided tape and only six (6) bolts per 1m x 3m (39″ x 118″) panel. Edges of panels are left clean cut. |
| Sustainability |
SELF-STRUCTURAL PANELITE PANELS SAVE MATERIAL, LABOR AND TIME IN INSTALLATION
The extraordinary structural efficiency of honeycomb allows for the very minimal detailing that makes the meeting rooms appear to float: the panels are simply bonded to the steel structure with Very High Bond tape and bolted through with six bolts per 1m x 3m (39″ x 118″) panel. The edges are left clean-cut, requiring no framing. This minimal detailing and light weight of the panels saves significantly the materials, labor and time needed in installation.
PANELITE PANELS OPTIMIZE DAYLIGHTING TO SAVE ENERGY
Starlight translucent honeycomb panels allow natural light into the floating meeting rooms, saving on energy requirements for artificial lighting.
VYŠEHRAD Atelier Architects describe the project:
“Our task was to create a multi-functional study space in place of the western courtyard of building D of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague…We constructed a new roof over the 18 x 24 m courtyard, the original glazed facades were removed and thus we created a two storey hall with an industrial feeling – a theme of “factory for ideas”. The lower level of the hall can be freely divided into several studios with the help of mobile locker boxes. It is possible to move all the furniture to the sides or adjoining storage room and create one large hall for exhibitions, lectures, conferences or examinations. The overall open sense is supposed to allow more enriching communication and interaction between students, teachers and the studios themselves. Longer walls of the hall serve as exposition surfaces with an acoustic function while from the shorter sides students can access a technically equipped workshop for creating models or the relaxation space. In the corners of the hall are situated two staircases that lead to the first floor, where four smaller classrooms – boxes are suspended from the roof structure to be used for working in smaller groups or consultations with teachers. These green boxes are accessible by suspended bridges from the gallery that borders the whole hall. Daylight is brought in through elongated skylights and glazed sides of the raised roof construction.”
The floating boxes were achieved thanks to the incomparable structural efficiency of honeycomb. For more, see Bonded Series Resource Efficiency.
A NETWORK OF CELLS ACTS LIKE THOUSANDS OF STRUCTURAL I-BEAMS
HONEYCOMB PANELS WEIGH HALF AS MUCH AS RESIN SHEETS AND ONE SIXTH THE WEIGHT OF GLASS
HONEYCOMB PRODUCES THE MOST EFFICIENT STRENGTH-TO-WEIGHT AND STIFFNESS TO WEIGHT STRUCTURES ATTAINABLE