Employees of KOMA are having lunch in nature

It has been about a year since a brand new building appeared on the premises of the Vizovice factory for container modules, and not just any building - we can directly and literally call it a showcase of modular construction.
The newly built company cafeteria KOMA proves that prefabricated modular constructions can look just as elegant as buildings created using standard methods. They even stand out with their modern technical foundation, which embodies a fresh influx of innovative solutions and futuristic visions.

To make a building beautiful is not just a matter of the structural system, the cost of materials used, or the appropriate color scheme. It is important to find the right idea, one that is sufficiently robust while being new and daring in its own way. An idea that can bring something to a specific place that hasn't been there before, yet remains unified with the context of its time of origin and the purpose for which it was created, while also responding considerately to its surroundings. These are several conditions at once, but their balance is the key to success.

The authorship of the architectural design for this bold building belongs to the young promising Brno studio Chybik Kristof Associated Architects, which hides behind its long name a team led by the duo Ondřej Chybík and Michal Krištof. They got involved with KOMA through their successful participation in several rounds of the Modular Architecture competition, which the company has been organizing regularly for architectural school students for many years. It is also worth mentioning that a winning design for a modular pavilion, which will represent the Czech Republic at the World Expo EXPO 2015 in Milan, emerged from this collaboration with the studio.

But let's return to the cafeteria building, which, with its elegance, has managed to convince everyone who previously doubted the aesthetic possibilities of modular construction. The initial mention of it being a showcase comes from an obvious fact visible at first glance. The upper of its two floors is like one large glass aquarium. For employees, lunchtime is a daily relaxation when they can step out of the factory halls and spend their midday in a space that offers them a beautiful view of the surroundings, made not only of administrative buildings but primarily of a landscape full of wooded hills, in whose embrace the entire area resides. It is necessary to appreciate that it was possible to advocate for full glass walls instead of traditional solid panels with square windows. Perhaps this is a harbinger that one day we will stop hiding in the shadows behind small curtained windows and instead let the light into our homes without fear of onlookers, as we can repeatedly admire especially in the Netherlands.

The theme of transparency can also be perceived in another form in the second half of the building, which comprises the ground floor locker rooms. The facade here is formed by sheets of perforated expanded metal, allowing the viewer to subconsciously perceive the rawness of the gray walls of the modules that takes place beneath this veil. Even greater surprise awaits visitors in the interiors of the locker rooms, which are just bursting with color. Everything seems to be perfectly coordinated in colors – from floors, ceilings, and walls, to lockers and all pipes and lighting. Additionally, the exterior is further enlivened by bright yellow window shades, so even those who love vibrant shades will find joy outside.

The modular cafeteria in Vizovice and the upcoming pavilion for EXPO 2015 are the first signs of KOMA Modular's long-term efforts to achieve above-standard results in the field of architecture and are also a promising indication that when it comes to the future of Czech buildings in the area of modular architecture, we still have much to look forward to.