Print Gallery. Extension of Karmášek Printing Company in České Budějovice

Ivan Kroupa, Tomáš Zmek / Ivan Kroupa architekti /

The building is a cultural extension of the printing works following the original concept from 2001. From the perspective of urbanistic relations and inner urban space it soothes and unites a formerly fragmented street front, integrating the object of a transformer station into the volume and the façade of a printing company. The cultural function, accessible to the public, is presented through an open console to the street, where it logically connects with the public space. The closure of the original printing works, whose production faced  the street, is now balanced by an open transparent volume. The architecture of the original building, as well as the new extension, does not relate to the surrounding residential façades, it is not camouflaged. It is different, carrying out a different function towards the city and the site. It enriches, diversifies, and enlivens the place.