Office and Retail Centre

Year2007

CategoryOffices

LocationBrno

StatusDesign

The Brno – Heršpická Office and Retail Centre is composed of three freestanding buildings – H (high), M (medium) and L (low). Their names express the differing standard of each building, which is reflected in both the structural design and the materials used.

The concept makes it possible to emphasise the dominant parts of the complex while working with different construction budgets. The high-rise building H becomes a prominent landmark and a symbolic gateway to the city, whereas building L represents a more economical version of an office building. In plan, the longitudinal axes of the three buildings form a triangular composition.

The buildings share a similar formal principle – their long sides are defined by parallel straight lines, while the shorter ends are wrapped in a segmental curve. The character of the whole ensemble is defined by the differing tilt of the individual buildings: building H leans 19° towards Heršpická Street, building M leans by the same angle in the opposite direction, and building L remains vertical. Combined with the different heights of the buildings, this creates a striking and dynamic spatial composition.

Design team	Martin Krupauer Jiří Střítecký Pavel Kvintus

Life Between the Buildings

Each building is entered from the underground car parks or at ground level through centrally located lobbies with reception desks, directly connected to the vertical circulation cores and facing the inner garden. The ground floor is given over mainly to shops, restaurants, cafés, a gym and other services, complemented in building L by a staff canteen. The upper floors are offices, and their internal layout can be adapted to the specific needs of tenants.

The space between the buildings is completed by a garden for staff rest and recreation, whose geometric composition loosely draws on the tradition of Moravian Renaissance gardens.