A silo of contemporary culture. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovation by Prokš Přikryl architekti
23/05/2024.
[Pardubice] Czech Republic
metalocus, ADELA BONAS
metalocus, ADELA BONAS
Czech architecture studio Prokš Přikryl Architekti was commissioned to restore and functionalize the Automatic Mills, a monumental structure located on the banks of the Chrudimka River, in the centre of Pardubice, situated east of Prague, is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on The Elbe River, Czech Republic.
The building, which is classified as a national cultural monument, is one of the first buildings designed by architect Josef Gočár. It was built in 1909 for the Winternitz brothers and in 1924 it was expanded with a grain silo, which is now undergoing rehabilitation.
Since 2016, the old mill has been transformed into an urban cultural and social reference, thanks to the initiative of the Molinos Automáticos Foundation.
The building, which is classified as a national cultural monument, is one of the first buildings designed by architect Josef Gočár. It was built in 1909 for the Winternitz brothers and in 1924 it was expanded with a grain silo, which is now undergoing rehabilitation.
Since 2016, the old mill has been transformed into an urban cultural and social reference, thanks to the initiative of the Molinos Automáticos Foundation.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Location plan. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
Site plan. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
Basement and ground floor plans. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
First and second floor plans. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
Third and fourth floor plans. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
Fifth and sixth floor plans. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
Seventh and roof floor plans. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
Sections. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
Sections. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
East elevation. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
South elevation. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
West elevation. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
North elevation. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
Original East elevation model. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
New East elevation model. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
Section model. Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti.
The main construction interventions by Prokš Přikryl Architekti involved creating a full-length basement for the building, a new communication core and an open hall space in place of the pillared hall on the 5th floor. The condition of the 100-year-old concrete, which is now approximately C16/20, was excellent, showed no defects and no repair was necessary. However, the horizontal structures did not meet the required loads and were all replaced with new ones.
Due to the groundwater level, the basement was constructed as a white tank of waterproof exposed concrete with walls 300 mm thick. The entire structure was placed atop the existing footings and coupled with the columns. Upthrust risk was verified by calculation. An elevator shaft was concreted between the skeleton beams running the full height of the building. A specific situation was the cutting of door-sized holes (920/2250 mm) in the monolithic walls of the grain bins.
In the new hall on the 5th floor, the ceiling, columns, roof slab and attic were removed. Of the original structure, only the perimeter brickwork remained. Following the demolition of the roof slab, the structural scheme changed from a frame to free-standing walls fixed into the ceiling slab. New C-shaped columns were concreted to the existing columns in the perimeter masonry. A new flat roof was built, the attic was bricked in, and the shaft was finished with a roof extension made of exposed concrete.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Due to the groundwater level, the basement was constructed as a white tank of waterproof exposed concrete with walls 300 mm thick. The entire structure was placed atop the existing footings and coupled with the columns. Upthrust risk was verified by calculation. An elevator shaft was concreted between the skeleton beams running the full height of the building. A specific situation was the cutting of door-sized holes (920/2250 mm) in the monolithic walls of the grain bins.
In the new hall on the 5th floor, the ceiling, columns, roof slab and attic were removed. Of the original structure, only the perimeter brickwork remained. Following the demolition of the roof slab, the structural scheme changed from a frame to free-standing walls fixed into the ceiling slab. New C-shaped columns were concreted to the existing columns in the perimeter masonry. A new flat roof was built, the attic was bricked in, and the shaft was finished with a roof extension made of exposed concrete.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Project description by Prokš Přikryl Architekti
The Automatic Mills, a national cultural monument, is one of the first buildings designed by the architect Josef Gočár. Standing on the banks of the Chrudimka River in the centre of Pardubice, the monumental mill building was created in 1909 for the Winternitz brothers. In 1924, the complex was extended to include a grain silo, the conversion of which we designed. The automatic mills operated continuously for more than 100 years until 2013. Since 2016, the mill brownfield has been transforming a cultural and social urban district, thanks to the initiative of the Automatic Mills Foundation.
This site is composed of several buildings and institutions (the regional Gočár Gallery, the city's “Gampa” Gallery, the “Sphere” central workshops for schools, the Infocentre and the Silo), linked by a brick carpet and equally by the unique tension existing between them. Each of the architects has grasped their building differently. All the buildings reinforce each other and thus form a living part of the city. The exceptional architects Zdeněk Balík, Jan Šépka, Petr Všetečka and investor Lukáš Smetana have contributed to the whole.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
The main purpose of the Silo conversion is its social use, which one century after its construction has replaced the previous industrial function. The multi-purpose upper hall hosts theatres, lectures, concerts and social events. The roof terrace with bar offers a new view of the city. Exhibitions will be held in the newly accessible grain bins, and the silo ground floor now forms a covered public space. A basement with public toilets provides facilities for the entire new square.
A true building machine, it originally contained three basic parts: the milling technology (Prokop and Sons), the skeleton framework (the work of the builder Pollert) and the outer shell (architect Josef Gočár). Thanks to Josef Gočár, who was to become unquestionably the greatest Czech architect of the 20th century, the mills were from the outset never perceived as purely an industrial building. Instead, they create the mystery of a machine hidden in a fortress. Even the grain silo, added to the mill in 1924, is itself not graspable.
Considerations about the main entrance led to the decision to uncover the secret: activating the ground floor on both sides and creating a freely accessible public space under the bins. The idea of opening the building to the square went hand in hand with the overall opening of the site to the city after more than a century. Opening the gates, opening the parterre. We also introduced a new openness to the brick plinth by reintroducing a large opening that had been mysteriously closed. The exposed grain bins give the indoor space its atmosphere. A connection is made at the parterre level via the side between the mills and the silo, at the location of the original doors. On the other side, by contrast, the base is broken through by a significantly wide new opening.
Automatic Mills Grain Silo renovationby Prokš Přikryl architekti. Photograph by Petr Polák.
Today, as in the past, a single communication core connects the whole building. The main change is the hall inserted into the former machine room on the 5th floor, granting the space a privileged position above the entire area. Together with the hall, the roof of the building has been made wheelchair accessible.
The silo and its technology are characterised by verticality and a sense of vertical movement. The glass-concrete floor panels in the ground level and the hall create a path for light through all floors to the basement. Excavated between massive columns, this basement serves for facilities. Almost an underworld of their own, the underground spaces could have been the result of the columns being found deeper than our explorations had anticipated. Another newly accessible space is the inside areas of the grain bins on the second-floor level: here, the very essence of the silo becomes visible.
The interior modifications are restrained. Colours and brickworks are confined to the facades, the interior is muted, and the range of materials is standard and adheres to the principle of additions not standing in contrast to the old. All original surfaces are retained, including the patinas, or various drill holes and scars left by the demolished partition walls.
Simply put, the aim is to develop the building in its rationality and monumentality.
More information
Architects
Prokš Přikryl architekti. Lead architects.- Martin Prokš, Marek Přikryl.
Collaborators
Civil engineer.- Jan Kolář
Concrete structures.- MDS Projekt.
Steel structures.- STA-CON.
Fire safety.- Projekty PO.
Ventilation.- Mikroklima.
Plumbing.- MK Profi.
Electrics.- Miroslav Bouček
Acoustics, A/V media.- SONING.
Lighting.- Ladislav Tikovský [AST].
Measurement and regulation.- TECONT.
Lift.- TRAMONTÁŽ.
Geothermal boreholes.- GEROTOP.
Heating.- Jiří Vik.
Graphical system.- Richard Wilde [publikum.design].
Concrete structures.- MDS Projekt.
Steel structures.- STA-CON.
Fire safety.- Projekty PO.
Ventilation.- Mikroklima.
Plumbing.- MK Profi.
Electrics.- Miroslav Bouček
Acoustics, A/V media.- SONING.
Lighting.- Ladislav Tikovský [AST].
Measurement and regulation.- TECONT.
Lift.- TRAMONTÁŽ.
Geothermal boreholes.- GEROTOP.
Heating.- Jiří Vik.
Graphical system.- Richard Wilde [publikum.design].
Client
Automatic Mills Foundation.- Lukáš Smetana, Mariana Smetanová.
Main Contractor
Area
Built-up area.- 357 m².
Gross floor area.- 1848 m².
Usable floor area.- 1131 m².
Plot size.- 4030 m².
Gross floor area.- 1848 m².
Usable floor area.- 1131 m².
Plot size.- 4030 m².
Dates
Project year.- 2018 – 2020.
Completion year.- 2023.
Completion year.- 2023.
Location
Automatické mlýny 1963, 530 03 Pardubice. Czech Republic.
Cost
€ 3.4 mil.
Manufacturers
Bricks.- Cihelna Kadaň.
Internal insulation Multipor.- Xella.
Steel windows.- Jansen.
Aluminium windows.- Reynaers.
Steel doors.- Montkov, HSE.
Lift.- Tramontáž.
Sockets.- ABB, Jung.
Lights.- Vyrtych.
Spiral heaters.- ISAN.
Glass concrete panels.- Sklobeton.
Tiles.- Rako.
Furnishing items.- AZP, Sanela, Jika.
Curtain walling.- Gerriets.
A-Chair.- Brunner.
Acoustic panels Heraklith.- Knauf.
Galvanized steel grates.- Perfolinea.
Outdoor furniture.- Bistro chairs and tables - Fermob.
Internal insulation Multipor.- Xella.
Steel windows.- Jansen.
Aluminium windows.- Reynaers.
Steel doors.- Montkov, HSE.
Lift.- Tramontáž.
Sockets.- ABB, Jung.
Lights.- Vyrtych.
Spiral heaters.- ISAN.
Glass concrete panels.- Sklobeton.
Tiles.- Rako.
Furnishing items.- AZP, Sanela, Jika.
Curtain walling.- Gerriets.
A-Chair.- Brunner.
Acoustic panels Heraklith.- Knauf.
Galvanized steel grates.- Perfolinea.
Outdoor furniture.- Bistro chairs and tables - Fermob.
Photography
Martin Prokš, Marek Prikryl. Prokš Přikryl architekti
Prokš Přikryl Architekti is an architecture studio established in 2011 by Martin Prokš and Marek Prikryl, after meeting at architecture school.
They work on assignments of different scales and programs, from smaller buildings (office expansion in Vysoké Mýto), through family housing (house with ramp), to larger projects in recent years: revitalization of the square in Divišov, adaptation of the grain silo, in the Winternitz mill complex in Pardubice, and objects behind the Jablonec dam.
The project for the biotope fund in Honětice (2013) won several Czech and foreign awards (Czech Architecture Prize 2016 – ERA Special Prize, BigMat International Architecture Prize 2015, National Prize of the Czech Republic, Mies van der Rohe Prize 2015 – nomination for the Czech Republic), the office extension in Vysoké Mýt won the 2021 Grand Prize in the new construction category.
Martin Prokš (b. 1980 in Jihlava) is an architect-engineer who graduated in 2010 from the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University (CTU) in the studio of Jan Šépka and Mirka Tůmová. He went through the school of Alena Šrámková, Petr Hájek and Jan Šépka and studied civil engineering at the CTU Faculty of Civil Engineering for 3 years. He has worked in different studios, including those of Petr Hájek and Tomáš Hradečný.
Marek Prikryl (b.1983 in Prague) is an architect-engineer who graduated in 2010 from the CTU Faculty of Architecture. In 2013 he completed his studies at the School of Architecture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. During his stay abroad he worked in the offices of Productosra in Mexico City and Renzo Piano Building Workshop in Genoa.
They work on assignments of different scales and programs, from smaller buildings (office expansion in Vysoké Mýto), through family housing (house with ramp), to larger projects in recent years: revitalization of the square in Divišov, adaptation of the grain silo, in the Winternitz mill complex in Pardubice, and objects behind the Jablonec dam.
The project for the biotope fund in Honětice (2013) won several Czech and foreign awards (Czech Architecture Prize 2016 – ERA Special Prize, BigMat International Architecture Prize 2015, National Prize of the Czech Republic, Mies van der Rohe Prize 2015 – nomination for the Czech Republic), the office extension in Vysoké Mýt won the 2021 Grand Prize in the new construction category.
Martin Prokš (b. 1980 in Jihlava) is an architect-engineer who graduated in 2010 from the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University (CTU) in the studio of Jan Šépka and Mirka Tůmová. He went through the school of Alena Šrámková, Petr Hájek and Jan Šépka and studied civil engineering at the CTU Faculty of Civil Engineering for 3 years. He has worked in different studios, including those of Petr Hájek and Tomáš Hradečný.
Marek Prikryl (b.1983 in Prague) is an architect-engineer who graduated in 2010 from the CTU Faculty of Architecture. In 2013 he completed his studies at the School of Architecture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. During his stay abroad he worked in the offices of Productosra in Mexico City and Renzo Piano Building Workshop in Genoa.
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