Bringing Prague Home

Inside Outside Spaces

You can view the whole set of boards I produced after our one-week trip by clicking here.

Here are some photos of the exhibit that my Hampton University architecture students assembled after our 2008 spring break trip to Prague.  In addition to the exhibit, we also delivered a lecture on campus and another for the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).  Those talks were about the urban issues each of us studied on our one-week trip.

With the help of Lenka Schulzova, an alumna of our program who was born in the Czech Republic, I’d planned an itinerary that included lots of warm spaces inside where we could draw (Prague is chilly in March) as well as outside spaces.

It was truly amazing how this group came together during this trip.  Everyone on the trip embraced the challenge to practice sketching as much as possible.  Daisy Williams (a truly amazing teacher who is now working at the University of Oregon) provided instruction on drawing before and during the trip.

Each day of our trip, the students eagerly explored the city.  They frequently asked to stop to make sketches.  And they enthusiastically discussed and critiqued each other’s work.  We developed so much skill and knowledge during this trip!  And we brought what we learned home to share with others.

Prague is remarkable in that so many grand, public spaces are available indoors.  It also has lovely courtyards embedded inside the blocks of streets.  This is the case in many cities, but in Prague the courtyards are often accessible to the general public — which is a great treat for visitors and residents alike!

Discovering all this, I titled my series of boards “insideout|side spaces” and described different qualities of these Czech spaces on each board.