The new home of the Charles University Faculty of Humanities in Prague

The cafeteria and dormitory designed by architect Karel Prager and built in the 1980s using the challenging lift-slab method constituted only the rough draft of a university campus that was never completed on the banks of the Vltava River. The cafeteria itself was never used as planned. The renovation project by Kuba & Pilař architektipreserves the exterior form, height and proportions of the original canteen building

The main intervention is the creation of a generous central hall, lit from above, with daylight entering between the skylight trusses. The hall is the heart and social center of the faculty that spatially connects all three floors of the building: the entrance allows for a simple connection of all floors by two differently shaped single staircases. Cantilevered galleries around the perimeter of the hall provide access to seminar rooms, faculty offices, and two elevators with fire escapes. The lower level of the hall houses large common rooms, auditorium, faculty library and the deanery

The predominant materials in the interior are exposed concrete combined with a fine metal ceiling mesh, black screed and white wood elements. The space is dominated by an array of orange furniture. The exterior structural glazing is designed primarily as an effective acoustic shield against noise from a six-lane ring road in the immediate vicinity of the building. The double-skin façade allows for natural ventilation and regulated shading of the interior space. Rounded glass corners are a link to the original architecture

The cafeteria conversion is part of a larger complex that includes two shared-base high-rise buildings housing dormitories. Completion of the outdoor areas, access roads and greenery will be the subject of the next phase of construction