The new building of the Alšova South Bohemian Gallery in Č. Budějovice will be completed by 2028
České Budějovice - The new building of the Alšova South Bohemian Gallery (AJG) in České Budějovice could be completed by 2028. In 2029, the gallery would move from the riding hall of Hluboká Castle and could open to the public in 2030. This was stated today by representatives of AJG and the South Bohemian Region during the presentation of the winner of the architectural competition for the new building, which was won by the Prague firm Marek Chalupa architekti s.r.o. The South Bohemian Region, which is the founder of the gallery, estimates the construction costs to be over half a billion crowns.
"This is an extraordinary event; no art museum has been built from scratch in the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia in over 100 years. This is not just a building for the gallery; it is a building for České Budějovice and Czech culture in general,” said the director of AJG, Aleš Seifert.
The new building will be located at Senovážné náměstí opposite the Metropol, at the intersection, referencing the bastion that once stood here in the defensive circuit. The object will have two parts, with the main atrium featuring an entrance in between. The left part of the building will be the operational and administrative section, housing the storage areas, while the right part will consist of exhibition spaces. The ground floor will include a multipurpose hall and a café. The facade of the building is made of colored reinforced concrete panels, which are essential for ensuring a stable internal climate for the gallery. "There will be greenery and photovoltaic panels on the roof. Trees will be planted around the area so that the building is better integrated into the future park,” said architect Marek Chalupa.
The authors of the winning proposal are architects Marek Chalupa, Štěpán Chalupa, Vojtěch Jeřábek, and Jan Ptáček. The competition received proposals from 82 participants, of which 52 were from the Czech Republic and 31 from abroad from 11 countries. The competition jury convened for four days at the turn of August and September, evaluating the proposals not only from the perspective of urbanism and architecture, but also from structural, economic, and energy viewpoints. They also assessed the demanding operational conditions required by storage areas and exhibition halls.
Currently, AJG is located in the riding hall of Hluboká Castle, which heritage protectors would like to adapt for their purposes. The space is inadequate for exhibitions of artistic objects. "Today in the Czech Republic, there is no institution that would lend me any object for the large riding hall because we can't maintain the climate there; there’s no ceiling, just the truss. So artistic works suffer there. In the other halls, we can maintain the climate, but it's very expensive,” said Seifert.
The move of AJG to České Budějovice is part of the city’s bid for the European Capital of Culture. The construction of the building is a standalone project but is part of the reconstruction of Senovážné náměstí, where a cultural district will be created, including the South Bohemian Theatre, KD Slavie, Zátkovo nábřeží, South Bohemian Philharmonic, KD Metropol, South Bohemian Museum, and House of Art. "We will move the current parking lot underground, build a park with dozens of trees above it, and open the mill creek. We are currently negotiating with the trade unions that own KD Metropol to buy the building, renovate it, and move the South Bohemian Theatre there,” said Martin Kuba (ODS), the governor of the South Bohemian Region.
The renovations of Senovážné náměstí are based on a project by Pavel Hnilička Architects+Planners, which the České Budějovice city hall presented in 2022. At that time, the cost estimate for the reconstruction was 400 million CZK.
AJG has approximately 20,000 artistic objects, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, graphic prints, ceramics, and porcelain. This makes it one of the five largest art collections in Bohemia. Its collection of Gothic paintings and sculptures is particularly extraordinary, while it also organizes exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. Last year, the gallery had a record attendance of 90,310 people. The works of Hans R. Giger, the creator of the movie Alien, attracted the most, with 46,000 visitors.
"This is an extraordinary event; no art museum has been built from scratch in the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia in over 100 years. This is not just a building for the gallery; it is a building for České Budějovice and Czech culture in general,” said the director of AJG, Aleš Seifert.
The new building will be located at Senovážné náměstí opposite the Metropol, at the intersection, referencing the bastion that once stood here in the defensive circuit. The object will have two parts, with the main atrium featuring an entrance in between. The left part of the building will be the operational and administrative section, housing the storage areas, while the right part will consist of exhibition spaces. The ground floor will include a multipurpose hall and a café. The facade of the building is made of colored reinforced concrete panels, which are essential for ensuring a stable internal climate for the gallery. "There will be greenery and photovoltaic panels on the roof. Trees will be planted around the area so that the building is better integrated into the future park,” said architect Marek Chalupa.
The authors of the winning proposal are architects Marek Chalupa, Štěpán Chalupa, Vojtěch Jeřábek, and Jan Ptáček. The competition received proposals from 82 participants, of which 52 were from the Czech Republic and 31 from abroad from 11 countries. The competition jury convened for four days at the turn of August and September, evaluating the proposals not only from the perspective of urbanism and architecture, but also from structural, economic, and energy viewpoints. They also assessed the demanding operational conditions required by storage areas and exhibition halls.
Currently, AJG is located in the riding hall of Hluboká Castle, which heritage protectors would like to adapt for their purposes. The space is inadequate for exhibitions of artistic objects. "Today in the Czech Republic, there is no institution that would lend me any object for the large riding hall because we can't maintain the climate there; there’s no ceiling, just the truss. So artistic works suffer there. In the other halls, we can maintain the climate, but it's very expensive,” said Seifert.
The move of AJG to České Budějovice is part of the city’s bid for the European Capital of Culture. The construction of the building is a standalone project but is part of the reconstruction of Senovážné náměstí, where a cultural district will be created, including the South Bohemian Theatre, KD Slavie, Zátkovo nábřeží, South Bohemian Philharmonic, KD Metropol, South Bohemian Museum, and House of Art. "We will move the current parking lot underground, build a park with dozens of trees above it, and open the mill creek. We are currently negotiating with the trade unions that own KD Metropol to buy the building, renovate it, and move the South Bohemian Theatre there,” said Martin Kuba (ODS), the governor of the South Bohemian Region.
The renovations of Senovážné náměstí are based on a project by Pavel Hnilička Architects+Planners, which the České Budějovice city hall presented in 2022. At that time, the cost estimate for the reconstruction was 400 million CZK.
AJG has approximately 20,000 artistic objects, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, graphic prints, ceramics, and porcelain. This makes it one of the five largest art collections in Bohemia. Its collection of Gothic paintings and sculptures is particularly extraordinary, while it also organizes exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. Last year, the gallery had a record attendance of 90,310 people. The works of Hans R. Giger, the creator of the movie Alien, attracted the most, with 46,000 visitors.
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AJG
Jiří Adámek
12.09.24 08:53
Jihočeská galerie
Ing. Vlastimil Kocurek
19.09.24 12:32
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