Center for the Restoration of 20th Century Architectural Monuments

In the area of Villa Stiassni, a plan was developed in 2009 by the National Heritage Institute in Brno in cooperation with the Faculty of Architecture at VUT in Brno to create a Center for the Restoration of 20th Century Architecture. For its operation, it is necessary to supplement the existing buildings with a new construction that will provide visitors with the necessary space for exhibitions, lectures, and conferences. The building is designed as a simple, lapidary mass, longitudinally positioned along Preslova street. The compactness of the form is emphasized by solid concrete walls made of black exposed concrete with large glazed areas.
The building also serves as the main entrance to the area from Preslova street and its expression evokes the impression of an "entrance gate." The glazed surfaces allow for an unrestricted view from the interior of the entire Villa Stiassni area and also enable a view through the object into the area from the street.
The mass of the object is two stories high with entrances at both levels. The upper level is accessible from the street. One enters onto a gallery of the two-story foyer, where there is a counter with information for visitors, selling books and refreshments.
On the lower level, accessible by a ramp from the garden, there is a foyer with spaces for exhibitions and facilities for visitors located beneath the gallery. From the foyer, there is access to a lecture hall, which is followed by the hall's facilities and the technical equipment of the building. Both levels of the foyer are connected by a single-flight staircase and an elevator, which continues all the way to the rooftop terrace. The terrace offers long-distance views of Brno. The load-bearing structure consists of walls made of colored black exposed concrete and reinforced concrete columns. The façade facing the garden, which is open across the entire height of the building, consists of a set of reinforced concrete supports shaped like the letter X. These serve a load-bearing and stiffening function and are also a prominent artistic motif of the building, which surprises visitors both when viewed from the garden and upon entering the building from the street.