The new pavilion for the Academy of Sciences is designed as a concrete cube with a cut-out parterre.
Address
Ústav systémové biologie a ekologie AVČR, v.v.i., Poříčí 3b, Brno, Czech Republic
Client
Academy od Sciences of the Czech Republic
Architectural design
Miroslav Pospíšil
Collaboration
Bořivoj Kovář, Robert Randys, Milena Koblihová, Martin Borák
Design
05/2009 - 01/2012
Construction
05/2012 - 06/2013
Photography
Ester Havlová, Aleš Ležatka
Awards
winner of the competition Building of the Year 2014 of the Southmoravian Region
The new building of the Academy of Sciences with its design and materials used corresponds with the existing development. The building has the shape of a cuboid, from which a glazed greenhouse structure protrudes to the south and a concrete transformer station to the northwest. The transformer station must be excluded from the plan of the building for operational reasons, to prevent its electromagnetic field interfering with the sensitive equipment inside the building.
The main mass in the north-eastern part of the building is “cut out” and the said corner floats at a height of 3.5 meters above the ground. The reason for this is a protection zone for a collector sewer running under the building. The bare concrete underlines the purely scientific character of the building, which is also emphasised by the utility lines largely installed on walls and ceilings.
A major part of the ground floor is occupied by the entrance hall. Next to the hall there is a staircase with an elevator shaft, toilets and an entrance to the greenhouse. From the hall you can also access the underground floors, with technical facilities, a laboratory and a darkroom. In the middle of all the upper floors, there is a common hall with a kitchen block. Around the perimeter, there are laboratories and toilets. The two central floors are fully occupied by laboratories. On the top floor, there is a meeting room, a phytotron laboratory and HVAC engine room.
The supporting structure of the building consists of a monolithic reinforced concrete wall system ensuring the stiffness of the building and enabling cantilevering of the three floors of the building above the entrance area. The external walls are sandwich-type walls with thermal insulation which are clad with a Monier’s reinforced concrete facade.
