The Pardubice Region continues with the design of a new gallery

Pardubice - Pardubice Region will complete the documentation for the new gallery, which will be located in the Winternitz Automatic Mills, designed by Josef Gočár, by the end of the year. The reconstruction will then take two years. This was stated today by the Deputy Governor Roman Línek (KDU-ČSL) to reporters.

"On the one hand, we must respect the form that the famous architect gave to the industrial building back then, on the other hand there should be a modern cultural institution that can utilize the industrial elements of the original building," Línek said.

The region decided to purchase the main building of the mills, which is a national cultural monument, a year ago. They paid 22.5 million crowns for it, which is roughly the same amount that a private entity paid for the entire complex. However, when the mills were for sale, the regional government did not yet have a use for them, the decision to expand the East Bohemian Gallery came later, Línek said today.

The design for the new gallery was created by a team of architects over nearly a year. The entrance to the five-story gallery will be from two passageways, connecting the embankment and the courtyard. The entrance and exhibition spaces will be in the former mill building, which has a wooden and steel supporting structure. "We must preserve Gočár's strong points. We are making cuts to maintain his compositional principles. On the top floor, a ten-meter-high hall with a mezzanine and an exhibition wall for the full height has been created," said architect Petr Všetečka.

Exhibition halls with views, a multifunctional hall, a creative studio, and a library will be created in the former production halls, and part of the roof terrace will also be accessible. In the former water tower at the top of the building, the core of the fire suppression system will be located, which will activate a water mist in case of fire. There will be a gas fire extinguishing system in the depository, as water would damage the artworks.

What the mills will look like at the end of 2021 will be shown by the East Bohemian Gallery at an exhibition that will start on April 8 and run until June 9.

The Pardubice Region expects that the reconstruction of the national cultural monument will cost about 300 million crowns, with about a third of the funds coming from European subsidies. Another part of the mills was taken over by Pardubice again this March. They paid 15.5 million crowns for the former packaged flour warehouse buildings, the land, and the project. The building will be converted and expanded into Central Polytechnic Workshops and spaces for the Gallery of the City of Pardubice by 2022.