Social center, library, consistory and social fire department in Branice.
The project is located in Branice, to the east of the Czech Republic, a few kilometers from Austria.
The site where it is located is quite long and narrow and the program to be solved is very varied (one area for volunteer firemen with garage and technical areas, library, auditorium, offices for the town hall, temporary housing, and another area for commerce as well as the creation of a public square).
The proposal clearly defines the boundaries between public and private spaces with a triangular shape of the building that distributes the space in two halves (half built, half public space) creating a resounding shape and configuring a public square facing east that extends to the facade of the existing school. The most public program is located on this facade and it extends towards the outer plaza.
The roundabout horizontal line of the building is even more emphasized with the vertical tower which is necessary for the maneuver of the firemen that is located just at the end of the same.
The building is divided into two main areas: the social area (multifunctional hall, office, library, commercial space) accessed through an atrium and the technical area with independent entrances (fire station and maintenance of the population). The plants of both zones have two different levels depending on slope of the lot, but the cover is solved in a single line. This causes that the program is distributed of increasing form in function of the necessary height for him. In the higher areas, there is a second floor, which resolves the program with the greatest need of privacy (accommodation and social club of the fire station).
The building is designed with a minimalist esthetic. The facade is made of vertical panels of cement, panels in the module of 1250 mm. The module determines the location and size of the windows.
The window and entrance openings are provided with mechanical shutters of materials identical to the facade.
The interior is lighter compared to the outside. The floor is made of white plaster cement, with white plaster walls too.