We were given a very attractive opportunity to design a community centre in one of the picturesque villages in the Czech-Moravian Highlands. The assignment was to design a multifunctional building that would become the center of the municipality and would include all facilities necessary for the village residents, such as a multi-purpose hall, a library, a space for mothers and their children, a café, a surgery, commercial premises and, last but not least, startup flats. We have designed a simple structure with a timeless and pure look and its shape reflecting the plot. The groundfloor is generously glazed, which immediately reveals the community character of the building. This is further stressed by a public parterre designed as a place of meetings and relaxation. The mass of the house is divided into several sections, which ensure the smooth and separate functioning of individual facilities. The western section contains a café with hygiene facilities on the ground floor and an area for mothers and small children and a library on the first floor. The central section is intended for two general practitioners’
offices along with patient waiting rooms and hygiene facilities on the ground floor and a multipurpose hall on the first floor. The eastern section is also a part of the building but is accessible by separate entrances for two commercial premises on the ground floor (hairdresser‘s, cosmetics, massages, etc.) and two bedsit start-up flats on the first floor. Above the flats and facilities serving the hall are the technical facilities of the whole building, which are accessible through a staircase. The rest of the building on the first floor is open towards the roof, which adds to the comfortable feel of the whole space. Light is provided by circular skylights in the roof structure. The surface of the facade and the roof structure is covered with fibre cement sheets, which give the whole building a clear and unified appearance and at the same time refer to gables of many of the local houses which are cladded by the same material. The community centre will provide the locals with all necessary services as well as a modern centre of the village.
