Brno will announce a competition for the design of the Creative Center in the former prison

Brno - Brno will announce an architectural competition for the design of the Creative Center this autumn, which it intends to build in the former prison building on Cejl Street. Matěj Hollan (Žít Brno), the deputy mayor, told ČTK today. According to him, the winner could be known next summer. The prison building, recently declared a cultural monument by the Ministry of Culture, has been deteriorating for several years. The establishment of a center for artist gatherings is estimated to cost about 400 million crowns. The city aims to obtain a grant from the European Union for this.

Councilors today approved a resolution to announce the competition. "The Office of the Architect of the City of Brno, in cooperation with the departments of the magistrate, will prepare the competition assignment. As soon as we have it, we will approve it in the council, and the announcement could be in the autumn," Hollan stated.

The winning designer should be known in about a year. "We envision that there will be creative industries, which could include advertising, architecture, theaters, fashion design, and a wide spectrum of artistic crafts. It will revitalize not only the prison but also the so-called Bronx area," Hollan said. The prison is located in a so-called socially excluded area. "We anticipate that low-threshold activities will be created there so that local residents can come and start creating. All this must be considered by the competitors in the architectural competition," Hollan added.

In addition, the city has a study of heritage values and heritage limits, which it commissioned after the Ministry of Culture's decision that the prison would be a cultural monument. According to Hollan, this will help ensure that creative industries can coexist with low-threshold centers while preserving the sanctity of the place of death, the baroque chapel, or the gallows.

The declaration of cultural monument status was requested by the National Heritage Institute, which considers the building not only historically valuable but also a memorial site from the Nazi and communist era. Last year, Brno conducted essential work on the building for about six million crowns to prevent it from further deterioration.

The prison was established in the 18th century. It served its purpose from 1784 to 1956. It was replaced by a prison in Bohunice.