Location
Municipal district of Prague-Nebušice, Czech Republic
50°06’47.9″N 14°19’02.7″E
Completion date
2021
Authors
project management: Hana Seho, Jiří Poláček
student team: Jan Čech (author of the proposal), Klára Fólová, Max Goldberg, Sophia Kačena, Veronika Cirmonová, Nikol Zelmanová, Johana Zafarová
Consultants
František Denk (static solution)
Collaboration
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering CTU, RENEX, Truhlářství Havlíček, Valenta ZT, Zámečnictví Tomáš Beran
Investor
Municipal district of Prague-Nebušice
Authors of photos
Martin Čeněk, Lubomír Kotek, Jiří Ryszawy, Sophia Kačena
Behold, the eye! What is it? To the adventurer a lookout tower, to the small explorer a swing, to the photographer a frame in the landscape… The eye is a vantage point in the middle of the fields. From the built-up part of Nebusice, two dirt roads lead to it, lined with an avenue of cherry and walnut trees. The view of the panorama of Nebušice and the distant landmarks of Prague is already visible from the ground, no need to build up in height. The eye blends into the surroundings, looks light and is transparent. Its shape is determined by bent wooden beams meeting on the horizontal axis. The playfulness is supported by a hidden mechanism that allows the object to move sideways and deflect its vertical axis. The main load-bearing structure of the Eye is made of 20 bent BSH profiles (glued laminated timber), 18 inner profiles are made of spruce wood, and 4 edge profiles are made of larch wood. For greater durability, the BSH profiles are protected by covering larch slats. In the transverse direction, the prisms are connected by stainless steel bolts. The movement mechanism consists of two rubberised rollers on which the object is rocked. The structure is supplemented by a number of steel elements that prevent the Eye from sliding out of the roller mechanism. The Eye is more than a classic lookout tower. It is a frame in the landscape of an extraordinary organic shape, a viewing platform of several levels or an unconventional swing.
