Reconstruction of the facade of the primary school in Brno

Almost 70 years after the opening of the school, which is one of the prominent buildings in the Brno-Žabovřesky district, the school’s founder announced a public contract for insulating the façade of the building. The modifications were to include, among other things, the insulation of the building, connecting to the existing insulation of the lower structure, insulating the roofs above the entrances, creating new surrounds for the openings, new window sills, etc. Furthermore, the public procurement included modifications of the paved areas around the building.

The architects preserved the best of the original façade

"Our projects do not die on paper. They are ambitious and sophisticated to survive even the most exhausting bureaucratic carousel." In the spirit of this motto, the team from Brno's Atelier 99 also worked on the project for insulating the façade of the Jana Babák Primary School in Brno’s Žabovřesky. One of the reasons for preserving the original spirit of the school's façade was the fact that the surroundings of the school, with the Tábor Housing Estate, built between 1946 and 1948 according to the designs of architects Vilém Kuba, Jiří Kroha, and Josef Polášek, are among the best that emerged during this period in our residential construction. From 2010 to 2011, the houses in the Tábor housing estate underwent gradual revitalization, which diminished their authenticity. Atelier 99 aimed to avoid this loss of authenticity in the insulation of the building.

StoDeco elements replaced the original surrounds

The original window surrounds had to be removed during the insulation process, and if they could not be replaced, the building would have lost its original appearance. A perfect solution, whose advantages convinced even the technical supervisor of the investor, turned out to be the three-dimensional StoDeco decorative elements made from Verolith®. "Verolith® is obtained from perlite, a volcanic raw material, and offers three main advantages in renovations like this: it is a strong material but lightweight, it is non-flammable, and it has low thermal conductivity and minimal thermal expansion. The proven StoDeco profiles look like real, cast stucco and are an excellent solution for insulating façades of both historical buildings and apartment houses and other structures from the mid-twentieth century," says Martin Kadlc from Sto.

StoBrick brick cladding is indistinguishable

from the original clinker cladding. While the window surrounds made from StoDeco mineral elements allowed the insulated façade of the Jana Babák Primary School to retain its original appearance, the new brick cladding constitutes only a smaller part of the surface and is the proverbial "cherry on top." Nevertheless, they also helped complete a work that can serve as inspiration for other renovations where the façades of older buildings are insulated. The range of StoBrick brick cladding offers immense creative freedom on façade insulation systems and appeals to creators with its unconventional and combinable formats. Architects appreciate the variety of colors, different sizes, and multiple options for bond and joint executions.

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Object: Primary School Brno, Jana Babáka 1
Completion date: 2021
Founder: Statutory City of Brno, Brno–Žabovřesky district
Architect: Atelier 99 s. r. o., Brno
Implementation: KALAHA a.s., Brno
Technical supervision of the investor: COSTI s.r.o., Brno
Sto competencies: StoTherm Mineral and StoTherm Cladding insulation systems, StoDeco Line as surrounds around windows, StoSilkolit K 1.5 façade plaster, StoBrick Glatt Uni 180
Photo: Tomáš Malý