Technology Center Mikulandská

The new UMPRUM technology center in Mikulandská Street provides students with above-standard workshop facilities with a highly sophisticated space for creation. The grandiosity of the building allows for joint meetings and events such as conferences, exhibitions, fashion shows, lectures, and screenings to be easily implemented. The fundamental idea of the building is being open, spatial, interdisciplinary, intellectual, and inviting to the public.

The workshop facilities are an integral part of teaching at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague (UMPRUM). The necessary response to the lack of workshop space was to create a new space ideally within walking distance of the main school building at Jan Palach Square. These conditions were met by the vacated building of an elementary school in Mikulandská Street. The necessary reconstruction and modifications to make the premises suitable for specific workshop operations were made by the architect and then educator of UMPRUM, Ivan Kroupa, in cooperation with Jana Moravcová and Tomáš Zmek.

The design and art workshops fulfill UMPRUM‘s vision as a living and fully functional part of the city center. The building consists of two sections with 2 underground and 5 above-ground floors and provides a complete, highly modern technological facility for all fields, presentation needs, and the necessary technical equipment for proper building operation. The internal communication and spatial arrangements respect the historical context, modulation, and treatment of the building.

A total of 22 workshops located in the new building are divided into three sections; school-wide, field-specific, and specialized workshops. The construction of the large technology center was a challenge to modernize with new equipment and added machinery, thus laying the groundwork for providing a high level of craftsmanship work, with new possibilities for research and development. The interconnection of individual operations and all the necessary steps in the creation of various projects were also considered. A great advantage is the openness of the workshops and other spaces to promote interdisciplinary cooperation, which UMPRUM supports intensively as part of its teaching.

Currently, the new UMPRUM technology center in Mikulandská Street is the most modern building of its kind in the Czech Republic. With its new facilities and equipment, the UMPRUM finally can fully compete with all of the top art schools in Europe.