In the gallery of the České Budějovice House of Art, a house within a house was created, and a new exhibition has begun

photo: Petr Šmídek

České Budějovice – The House of Art in České Budějovice today hosts the exhibition House in a House by the Atelier Malý Chmel. The title refers to the fact that a new space has been created in the gallery and at the same time several models of their designs are being exhibited, including the winning design for the reconstruction of the House of Art, said architect Zdeněk Chmel. The repairs have been postponed by the city, which owns the building. Current curator Michal Škoda disagreed with this and will leave the position of curator of the Gallery of Contemporary Art and Architecture at the end of the year. He conceived this concept for his final exhibition at the House of Art. The exhibition will last until the end of November.

In the interior of the gallery, new rooms and hallways have been created, with a model of a different design in each room, including the House of Art, precisely because the studio is the co-author of the winning design for its reconstruction. The opening ceremony began on the stairs, with people occupying four floors in addition to the top one.

Visitors enter the gallery through a new entrance. "Originally, there were five rooms in the layout of the gallery; we added six rooms. Some are regular, rectangular, triangular, round. And now we are in a room that has an elliptical acoustic," said Zdeněk Chmel. The work took two weeks.

In each room, there is a large model presenting the design of buildings. The studio focuses on exploring space and finding the best solution, whether for family homes or large buildings. "This is evident in the models; they are a tool of our creativity; we build them in different scales and use them to explore how these houses will look in reality," said Chmel. For example, a model of a seven-story building borrowed from the collections of the art museum in Olomouc is made of concrete and cetris and weighs about 30 kilograms.

The model of the Čtyři Dvory residential building with 330 apartments intended for rental housing emerged from an architectural competition that the studio won. "And we are currently finishing the execution documentation; construction is expected to begin next year," added Chmel. Visitors will also see an unrealized private project of a house located in an old orchard above the city, where the individual pavilions are connected by a glass living space, Chmel added. Both projects are in České Budějovice.

Michal Škoda deliberately chose these architects. "I didn't think for too long because I was sure that it had to be an architectural exhibition, which is quite fundamental for me and is also significant for this gallery on a global scale. And the reason is not just the well-known fact that they are the authors who, together with the Berlin studio AFF, won the competition for the reconstruction of the House of Art in 2021, but also the overall quality of their work," said Škoda. In the future, he intends to focus mainly on his own creations, sculpture, in his studio. He led the gallery at the House of Art for 28 years, during which he prepared 234 exhibitions, including 42 architectural ones.

According to the design, an information center, a larger space for the gallery, an educational center, offices, an interactive space, a rooftop terrace, and social and technical facilities were to be created in the House of Art. The project has processed documentation with an issued building permit. The project has an approved grant of more than 20 million crowns.

From October 1, Škoda will be replaced by new curator Kristýna Hájková, who is expected to prepare a new exhibition for spring next year.