Slavonice is a city of sgraffito – with historical stories scratched into the plaster of the historical houses in the city centre. The masonry of the association building is a contemporary sgraffito and a witness to the events of the 20th century and its transformation.
The original association building in Slavonice was built before World War II and served exclusively for German associations. After the Second World War, and above all after the forced removal of the German population from the Sudetenland, it was repeatedly unconceptually rebuilt under the communist and socialist governments. After the revolution, the house was bought by a non-profit organization, which decided to rebuild the house and put it into operation for the citizens of Slavonice and for the organization of a cultural and educational program.
In the proposal, we decided to clean the place and demolish the extensions built by the regimes of the past. We added a floor to the original house to make it a self-confident piece of architecture, a new townhouse. It brings transparency to the place; it becomes one of the large buildings on the trail of medieval castles around the perimeter of the historic city. A new program is designed between the perimeter walls of the original building. The house is divided into two parts by a concrete block. A busy part with a cafe and offices and a quiet part with a hall and classrooms. Technology is located in the attic – a machine gallery, storage tanks, and recuperation units. The concrete ceiling in the main hall is structured and breaks acoustic waves. The house is built around a low-energy concept. Renewable energy sources are used for the operation of the house, it is managed with solar gains, recuperation, and heating with wood wood-fueled boiler. The individual sources are connected to the storage tank, from which the house is also heated. The house is insulated from the inside of the masonry, and it is lined with wooden battens that dampen sound waves. From the outside, the brickwork is exposed, speaking of the layers of building modifications during the 20th century. It is unified by a white painting on which light and shadow debate the transformation of the house and masonry.
Before the reconstruction, the house was surrounded by several extensions and in a state of despair. Nothing of the original interior remained, so we decided to clean the place in general. We demolished the surrounding extensions and raised the original house by one floor. We managed to preserve the shield of the house with the dates and the emblem of the eagle – the last reminder of the past.
The Slavonice clubhouse was nominated for the European Mies van der Rohe Award 2015.