FORMER CERAMICS FACTORY
Conversion of Plaster Mould Warehouse and Sorting Plant
The project deals with the second stage of the conversion of the former ceramics factory in Kravsko . The original Baroque complex was built as an inn on the Prague-Vienna route . In the second half of the 19th century , it was transformed into a famous ceramics factory and expanded with new buildings . The production operated here for a hundred years . Soon , however , it met the fate of many other obsolete industrial plants - production was closed down , the area changed hands and fell into long-term disrepair . The current owners , who come from Kravsko , are redeveloping the site for social events and adventure tourism .
Authenticity . This is what we strive for .
FACTORY Welcome
The main landmark of the site , visible from a great distance , is the factory chimney . A neon circle is placed on the chimney , crowning it and naturally drawing the visitor towards it .
The part of the original factory next to the chimney is now used as a reception area and staff facilities . The building is entered via a ramp made of coloured concrete . The axes of the site originally faced in a different direction , but for operational and ownership reasons it was no longer possible to follow them . The current entrance is the former back of the site , so it was necessary to create a new distinctive attractor that catches the visitor ’ s attention at first sight . The ramp and staircase welcome visitors and naturally guide them to enter .
The reception area is where the mixing of the clay used to take place . The discontinued mixers are being left in their original positions as they were once abandoned . We leave the whole space with its industrial character . Along one of the walls , we are creating an installation from plaster moulds into which pots were cast . Here the moulds are stacked in columns and left only as aesthetic objects that have lost their meaning but are still beautiful . It ’ s a way of keeping them in place and not getting rid of them .
THE PLASTER MOULD WAREHOUSE
Construction
It is an original utilitarian warehouse of plaster molds . The building has a 1:8 elongated floor plan on three floors . The vaulted cellars are recessed into the hillside to the south . The ground floor is brick , the second floor is timber-framed . The masonry is partly built from old plaster moulds that were used for casting ceramics . This material is not suitable for building at all . It is proof that throughout history people recycled and built with whatever was at hand .
Conversion
Conversion of buildings for a new purpose requires a greater degree of intervention than simple refurbishment . The project addresses the conversion of a former warehouse into an accommodation facility . The elongated shape allowed the layout to be chopped up into individual rooms like a salami . Due to the narrowness of the house of less than 6 metres , it was not possible
4 - www . refurbandrestore . co . uk