Architects Chybík+Krištof will restore Mendel's greenhouse in Brno

The place where Gregor Johann Mendel laid the foundations of modern genetics will take on a new form. The remains of Mendel's greenhouse in Brno will be reconstructed by architects from the Chybík+Krištof studio for the Abbey of Old Brno of the Order of St. Augustine. It will be completed on the occasion of the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of Gregor Johann Mendel's birth in 2022.
In the grounds of the Augustinian abbey in Brno lies a unique cradle of world genetics. The monastery gardens conceal the remains of the greenhouse where Father Gregor Johann Mendel conducted his famous experiments with peas and other plant hybrids. However, in the 1870s, the building was swept away by a storm, and only its foundations have survived to this day. The Abbey of Old Brno of the Order of St. Augustine, in collaboration with the architectural studio Chybík+Krištof, has decided to rectify this unsatisfactory situation.
The design for the reborn Mendel greenhouse from the architects at Chybík+Krištof draws from archival materials and in many ways reflects the original form of the building. The new interpretation mirrors the original floor plan, orientation, and actively engages with Mendel's three laws of inheritance, which predicted the future of modern genetics. It was here that Gregor Johann Mendel discovered how genetic information is transmitted in plants during his experiments. Architects Chybík+Krištof incorporated Mendel's rules directly into the structure of the new building and developed an identical body of the greenhouse according to the original plans with a distinctive roof, supported by a structure specially developed based on Mendel's three genetic principles. “The system consists of several types of building elements from the largest to the smallest, which inherit their properties in a manner similar to Mendel's peas. The greater number of elements allowed us a more subtle construction than would normally be possible,” explains architect and co-founder of the Chybík+Krištof studio, Ondřej Chybík.
The new greenhouse will be open to the park and adapted for modern purposes with the aim of attracting visitors from both the general and professional public to the monastery gardens. Because the design of the variable structure by Chybík+Krištof includes fully openable side walls and places all technologies outside the building, it allows maximum merging with the exterior without visual barriers. A hidden system of heat pumps, shading, and heating will ensure comfort in any season and provide ample space to highlight the historical significance of the site in the form of suspended peas nourished by hydroponics. The glass greenhouse with a steel structure will primarily be dedicated to a permanent exhibition thematizing the legacy of Gregor Johann Mendel; international conferences, lectures, banquets, exhibitions, and concerts will also take place here.
The completion of the reborn Mendel greenhouse is planned for the occasion of the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of Gregor Johann Mendel's birth in 2022.