Furniture, a tea pavilion, and an aid unit for refugees are just some of the student projects carried out at Wrocław Tech in the ProtoLAB international workshop. All of these structures will be on display from August 14.

ProtoLAB is an interdisciplinary project run jointly by researchers from the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty of Civil Engineering. The format of the classes was inspired by that used by the best European universities, such as TU Delft and TU Darmstadt. It allows the young participants to go through the entire cycle of developing an architectural form – from coming up with an idea and preparing a design to translating it into reality.

The classes have been delivered at Wrocław Tech since 2018. So far, they have resulted in, among other things, a pavilion dedicated to Zbigniew Herbert, the Freedom Pavilion – located on the site of the former Dąbie tram depot, and mobile homes of up to 35 square metres in size.

– To some extent, it’s a follow-up to the summer architecture school programmes, during which the students designed and then executed their ideas. We wanted to refresh this formula and combine it with a course taught at W1 and W2, also adding a summer workshop format. – says Jerzy Łątka, PhD, Eng, Arch. from the Faculty of Architecture. – This year, we changed the formula slightly due to factors including the pandemic, which taught us new methods of imparting knowledge. That’s why the design phase had an online format – he adds.

Challenges and new skills

This year's workshop is held under the motto of “re:cultivation”, which refers, among other things, to the phenomenon of social spaces in the shape of allotment gardens as well as the greenery that is gradually emerging in cities.

– On the other hand, the English word cultivation also means acquiring new skills and developing one's personality. It’s during these classes that the students have the chance to learn how to use construction tools and how to solve engineering problems that arise on the job, which is most valuable of all – explains Jerzy Łątka, PhD.

As far as the prefix “re” goes, it refers to the 5Rs principle (re-fuse, re-duce, re-use, re-purpose, and re-cycle), which is promoted in design and construction work. This is because the students use environmentally friendly materials such as paper and jute in their design work.

First the design, then the execution

The classes were divided into two stages. The first of these was a design workshop conducted in an online format in the second half of July. Thanks to funding from the Spinnaker programme implemented by the National Agency for Academic Exchange students from all over the world took part in it.

– In total, we set up eight groups, two of which worked from the very beginning in an online format. The students from the other six teams, on the other hand, prepared their detailed designs, came to Wrocław, and have been working on them since Monday – explains the academic.

The workshop is ongoing at “Time-Space”, at the former Dąbie tram depot, and a total of 43 participants – students and tutors – from Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and France are taking part.

Furniture, a pavilion and a special project

The projects under development include furniture and elements making up a community meeting space for the Integration School Complex No. 6 in Wrocław, as well as a tea pavilion.

– Attending a workshop is a great opportunity to bring your idea to life. It requires a completely different approach to design, and you have to deal with challenges that are continually cropping up. We’re also learning from professionals how to use processing tools and use environmentally friendly materials – says Sara Korżyńska from Wrocław Tech’s Faculty of Architecture.

One of the teams is working on a special project in collaboration with world-renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. It’s a model of an aid unit designed for internal refugees in Ukraine and those currently in Poland, or for those who will be rebuilding the country when the war is over. Students from the PWr Innspace scientific society and the PWr Solar Boat Team are also involved in the work.

– The students are conducting material-related experiments based on a previously created design. In the future, we want to build a prototype of such an aid unit, which will be located at the “Time-Space” facility. We hope that Shigeru Ban will be able to see it when he visits Wrocław University of Science and Technology on September 27. In fact, there are plans to launch the production of such shelters on a larger scale – explains Jerzy Lątka, PhD.

All the projects will be on display on Sunday, August 14, between 11.00 am and 3.00 pm at “Time-Space” (Tramwajowa St. 1-3 in Wrocław). The display is open to the public.

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The “ProtoLAB design & build 2022” initiative is conducted by the Manus Foundation and the scientific society “Humanising the Urban Environment”. The workshop partners are Time-space, Makita, Schumacher Packaging and Corex Group.