Architecture students bring a climate spa back to Karlovice

Fifteen students from the Faculty of Architecture of Brno University of Technology revived the forgotten tradition of climatic spa resorts in Karlovice this June. During the Dílna summer school, they designed and built with their own hands fifteen wooden structures set within the landscape of the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains. This year’s edition was themed Breath In and drew inspiration from the village’s former identity as a place of tranquility, fresh air, and immersion in nature.

Karlovice was a popular resort destination in the Jeseníky Mountains until 1945, attracting visitors seeking both relaxation and “a breath of fresh air” in the broadest sense of the phrase. Through small-scale architectural interventions in the landscape around the Karlovice Rychtа, the students sought to bring this now almost forgotten layer of local memory back to life.

“A century ago, climatic spas responded to a kind of social fatigue similar to what we experience today. People traveled there to breathe not only in the medical sense, but also in an existential one. This layer of Karlovice’s memory is still present in the landscape; we simply do not see it, and our aim is to make it visible again as a living invitation to today’s visitor,” said architect Jan Mléčka from FA BUT.

Over the course of six days, the students went through the entire creative process – from the first sketches to full-scale 1:1 construction. They worked without computers, using only paper, pencils, and wood. The resulting structures are intended to respond to the specific conditions of the site, such as light, terrain, and views, while offering visitors spaces to pause, sit, and experience the landscape in new ways. The installations will remain freely accessible in the landscape throughout the summer.

The Dílna 2026 Summer School of Architecture was held in cooperation with Hnutí DUHA Jeseníky and the Municipality of Karlovice.

Source: Faculty of Architecture

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Published	2026-07-09 08:46
Link	https://www.vut.cz/en//f19528/d345846