8SMIČKA

The former woolen fabric factory of Karel Trnka, subsequently Hall No. 8 of the National Enterprise Sukno, underwent a low-cost reconstruction as early as 2010. The main distinguishing feature at that time became the anthracite facade. The building underwent a more significant transformation between 2016 and 2018, when it was completely rebuilt into a gallery - the art zone 8smička. This three-story building is functionally divided so that the main exhibition space focusing on Czech modern and contemporary art, a café, a bookstore, and a multifunctional lecture room are located on the ground floor. The second floor includes exhibition spaces for modern and contemporary art and a private area. The third floor houses a repository equipped with a shelving system. The total usable area of the building is 3,000 m².

Technology
Comfort in the interior environment is ensured by high-level technologies, hidden and easily overlooked by the average visitor.
The spaces on the ground floor and the upper floor had limited clear height for exhibition purposes from the beginning. A balanced compromise was achieved with a system of lowered drywall trims at a height of 2.6 m around the perimeter of each exhibition room, allowing the main area to remain at a clear height of approximately 3.0 m. The lowered trims are used for managing air conditioning and other media such as electricity, low voltage, heating, water, and sewage. An embedded lighting system is placed at the edge of the trim.

Acoustics: For optimal acoustic parameters of the exhibition spaces, a perforated acoustic drywall ceiling has been chosen, which meets the balanced reverberation time of spoken words.

Lighting: The light for the exhibition spaces of 8smička is one of the essential parameters of the quality of the interior environment. Natural light is generally harder to regulate and can, in its essence, devalue artworks and accelerate their aging. Therefore, a sophisticated gallery artificial lighting system by Hoffmeister was chosen. This technology allows for targeted illumination of exhibits only to the required level of intensity and utilizes other lighting effects of diffused light and spotlighting. The rail system is a variable solution for placing lights along the perimeter (and in the space) of large rooms. Each exhibition requires an original lighting scene, made possible by easily rearranging the lights on the rail into different positions. The light parameters are adjustable by a digital control system DALI remotely through PC applications and mobile technologies.

Shading: One of the requirements was to retain the window openings and to return the building to the original face of the factory. Therefore, special windows with a factory-character metal grille and insulating double glazing were used. In the windows on the ground floor and the second floor, there are blinds with 1% light permeability that provide necessary shading for the exhibition exhibits. In the repository on the third floor, permanently lowered blackout blinds are provided for an optimal environment for the long-term storage of collection items.

Air conditioning: Another crucial parameter for the quality of the interior environment is temperature, humidity, and air exchange. For the exhibition spaces, it is essential that there is a permanent temperature of 18-20°C and humidity of 50-55% in the building. This requires a special heat distribution technology throughout the building. The heart of the building's technology is the air conditioning machine room and boiler room located on the ground floor on the north side of the building. The heating source for the entire building consists of two air-to-water heat pumps. A large air conditioning unit distributes fresh air throughout the building via ducts. In each large exhibition room, there is subsequently a precision climate control unit hidden in niches of load-bearing walls, which regulates air flow, its temperature, and humidity, and is connected to electricity, heating and cooling water, drinking water for humidification, and condensate drainage, thus balancing thermal gains and losses in the rooms. Radiators are installed by the facade windows to eliminate the risk of condensation of water vapor on the glazing surfaces. The entire heating system is controlled by a building management unit (MaR), which evaluates the overall condition of the building. The MaR system and the DALI control system operate on a common software platform and are easily adjustable and user-friendly.

Materials, Interior Furnishings
The floors of the ground floor exhibition spaces, bookstore, and auditorium are unified with a white epoxy coating. For the first floor including the café, oak floors are used, giving the building a homely atmosphere.
For the interior furnishings, a combination of domestic suppliers was chosen - the furniture for the café comes from the assortment of the company TON, office equipment, and small accessories from the architectural duo Schwestern and the company Profil nábytek. The social room and café are decorated with 8 pieces of refurbished chairs designed by Jindřich Halabala. The Bar Cafe 8smička is made from a custom composition of picture frames. An original designer construction "Špulka" made of softened polyurethane and cork was prepared to measure by the Atelier SAD.

Visuals
The visual identity of 8smička, created by designers Štěpán Malovec and Martin Odehnal, consists of simple typography complemented by visual transformations of the shape of the number 8. On the building itself, upon arrival from the D1 highway, there is a light panel in the shape of the number 8, the motif of which will change over time; this motif is connected to the website and to the custodians' facade.