Brno architects breathed life into the old factory

Brno - Architects from the KOGAA studio in Brno are trying to breathe new life into the former industrial site on Pekařská Street, where spirits were produced in the past. Their goal is to find a new purpose for the old building. For example, it can serve as a base for emerging companies. One of the project architects, Viktor Odstrčilík, shared this with ČTK.

"We came to this place by chance. The owners didn't know what to do with the building, so we decided to save it and come up with a use that would allow for the reactivation of the building,” said Odstrčilík. According to him, the once industrial space can continue to function and there is no need to demolish it, unlike what is currently happening with the former Vlněna site.

The architects are working with the concept of a so-called social reactor. The site is meant to accommodate several smaller companies focused on manufacturing and prototyping. "We want to bring in young start-up companies engaged in production. We also have a courtyard available for interaction with the public space,” Odstrčilík stated.

The architects initially moved their own office into the renovated and slightly adapted spaces. People and companies that join them only pay for the time spent on-site, as well as for internet, coffee, and tea. Selected furniture is also available. The space is set to further develop towards a larger number of different manufacturing activities in the future. "It's no longer the case that industries are strictly defined; they mix together. We want to create an environment that will stimulate and move things forward,” the architect mentioned. According to him, the environment is ideal for starting companies.

The architects are also trying to map the history of the building in addition to modifying the spaces. The building was associated with the Jewish Deutsch family in the first half of the 20th century, who had a distillery here. Part of the family later ended up in concentration camps. The distillery operated here even during communism, and afterwards the building remained empty for a long time.