Chybik+Kristof Architects & Urban Designers . photos: © Lukas Pelech
The architectural concept of the Czech national pavilion was designed by young, Brno-based architects Ondrej Chybik and Michal Kristof, founders of CHYBIK+KRISTOF ARCHITECTS & URBAN DESIGNERS.
Their joint project won the public tender thanks to its progressive (and slightly provocative) feature of a modular construction, enabling convenient transportation of the pavilion back to the Czech Republic and its reuse. The then twenty-seven-year-old architects’ equally suggestive idea was to interconnect the Czech pavilion with an attractive front space and a pool designed to refresh and relax. In the middle of a hot Milan summer, the sparkling clear water surface acts as a magnet for visitors, while symbolically reflects Czech primacy in environmentally friendly water purification using nanotechnology.
The pavilion itself is in the form of simple block structure of three floors, with the steel framework of its modular construction visible on its primary facade. At the level of the first and second floors, it is covered with a secondary facade made of white aluminum slats.
In their design, CHYBIK+KRISTOF AU place great emphasis on architectural representation of public space and the smooth transition between the exterior and interior of the pavilion. The large front space with a swimming pool organically leads into the ground floor restaurant, which is connected with the first floor by a grand, statuesque stairway. From the exhibition space on the second floor, stairs then lead to the pavilion roof garden, offering visitors a view of the surrounding area of the Milan exhibition grounds.
The main advantage of the pavilion, however, remains its modular design. It not only reflects the values of this year’s Expo, such as respect for the environment and technological innovativeness, but also guarantees a “second life” after the conclusion of the exhibition. The architects originally considered adapting the pavilion into a preschool, café or pool, but in the end it was decided that the pavilion will return to Vizovice, where it will become a part of the future KOMA Center for Modular Architecture. Use of containers in the context of the World Expo is not completely unique, but the Czech pavilion is an exception in the sense that a completely modular design was used by choice, not only as a cost-effective solution
PAVILION OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC AT THE WORLD’S FAIR EXPO 2015 IN MILAN
Location: Milan, Italy
Year: 2013-15
Studio: CHYBIK+KRISTOF ARCHITECTS & URBAN DESIGNERS
Client: The Office of the Commissioner of participation of the Czech Republic at EXPO 2015
Implementation: KOMA Modular s.r.o.
Program: exhibition pavilion, restaurant, swimming pool
Size: 3 200 m2
Status: international public competition, 1st prize, completed
Team: Ondrej Chybik, Michal Kristof, Krystof Foltyn, Pavel Hruza, Martin Kos, Vojtech Kouril, Veronika Mikulkova, Radim Musil
Photo: Simon Oberhofer, Lukas Pelech, Pavel Bartak
