zlín cultural centre

The building No. 14 should serve the Regional Art Gallery and Museum of South-East Moravia while the greater part of the building No. 15 is assigned to the František Bartoš Regional Library. Communal and social functions with ancillary services are concentrated on the common ground floor and in the extension. The new volume contains the total capacity of library repositories that cannot be placed in the old buildings due to structural reasons. This built-in structure plays a crucial role as the vertical circulation node, though, because it smartly solves the difference of a half of a storey between buildings 14 and 15. The common areas are the fundamental and unifying item of the program at the same time. Their natural centre is on the ground floor. Due to the selected concept, however, they occupy the whole space between the buildings; owing to the perforation of the central mass and views through it from one courtyard to the other the feeling of space can be thoroughly enjoyed. The courtyards can be a 3D exhibition area. The courtyards as a vibrant street offering services and cultural attractions are a place capable of attracting many people who would otherwise not find their way to institutions located here. A space inviting us not to miss it, to enter, pass through, notice the library and the gallery. Regarding the old buildings No. 14 and 15, we reckon with a very sensitively restoration including interior structural details and some finishes. The added slender mass is as long as the old building; it's abstracted vertical articulation is intentional – it works as a modern inserted component. A layer of lamellas carrying a diode screen – a media façade – is installed in front of the envelope of both fronts of the new structure. We consider this element as crucial for advertising the life inside the Centre and taking it outside. We ruled out glazing as the envelope of the atriums beforehand because of some of its substantial drawbacks (weight, limited dimensions of panels, expensive glazing systems, and laborious maintenance). That is why we design four-ply cushions from transparent ETFE foil inflated by air as the envelope. Together with the climate control and maintenance system, closing the atrium is a highly positive factor improving the energy usage balance of the whole building. The greenhouse effect decreases the need for heat in winter and filters away excessive heat, therefore helping to ventilate the entire complex of buildings. ´Finding the correct direction between caution and courage is the greatest art.´ Tomas Bata