teplo
We are a team of two emerging architects interested in how architecture intersects with other disciplines. In recent months, our focus has been on social issues—especially inequality—and how architecture can be used as a tool to respond to and challenge these conditions.
Anna in the last year has been working on her diploma thesis on the topic of deinstitucionalisation of institutional care (with an emphasis on children's institutional care) and the creation of an urban toolkit for new inclusive city housing. She has a strong interest in the social and political overlaps of architecture.
Barbora is currently on a study internship in Japan, expanding her perspective on societal standards, norms, and pressures — and how these are reflected in architecture, art, and the everyday environment.
The project teplo highlights one possible approach to meeting a basic human need during winter: access to warmth for people in difficult conditions. How can public space—along with art and architecture in dialogue with city institutions—respond to and support the needs of people experiencing homelessness?
The exhibition, aptly titled teplo (meaning "warmth"), explores how heat is distributed in public space, especially in winter. Although shelters run by charities and other organizations provide thermal comfort—mostly overnight and often with restrictions—there is a lack of dignified, freely accessible outdoor places where people can safely warm up throughout the day.
In desperation, many resort to unsafe heat sources, risking long-term harm. After frostbite, burns are the second most common winter injury among unhoused individuals, caused by exposure to ventilation exhausts or overheated elements in public transport—often their only options.
This intervention does not claim to solve the issue but instead highlights the need for systemic solutions and a network of heated public spaces across the city. Public space can complement the work of aid organizations by offering more inclusive, accessible support.
The same vulnerabilities arise during increasingly extreme summer heatwaves. Cities worldwide, including in Europe, are struggling with the effects of climate change—driven by fossil fuel dependence and systems that prioritize profit over livable conditions. Those most affected are often those least responsible.
This proposal seeks to address both extremes of urban climate stress—cold and heat—by creating inclusive public spaces that offer safe, sufficient, and dignified shelter and respite for all through collaboration and shared responsibility.