Continuing the restoration and adaptive reuse of Automatic Mills in the Czech city of Pardubice, Brno-based TRANSAT architekti has completed the new headquarters for the Gočár Gallery in the historic mill’s main building. The gallery is named after influential Czech architect Josef Gočár: Automatic Mills, designated a national cultural monument in the Czech Republic, is one of the first buildings designed by Gočár.
Automatic Mills stands on the banks of the Chrudimka River in the center of Pardubice. The distinctive landmark was built between 1910 and 1911 for the business-savvy Winternitz brothers. The mill was extended between 1921 and 1924 with the addition of a grain silo, also designed by Gočár (an arched bridge connects the two structures). After a century of production, during which time the mill changed hands on several occasions and a new flour silo was added, it finally ceased to operate in 2013.
In 2015, the mill was purchased by architect Lukáš Smetana who teamed up with architect Zdenek Balík to create an urban plan for the location. The Pardubice Region acquired the building from Smetana in 2018 with several projects in the works, including a craft and technology education center (Sféra) and a new space for the City Gallery Pardubice (GAMPA). Prague-based Šépka Architekti designed a new building for Sféra and GAMPA as well as the surrounding public spaces; Prokš Přikryl Architekti, also based in Prague, converted the mill’s grain silo into a multifunctional conference and art space; and TRANSAT architekti designed the new Gočár Gallery in the mill’s main building.
The main mill building’s imposing exterior is relatively deceiving, as its interior spaces are surprisingly narrow and not particularly spacious. TRANSAT architekti founder Petr Všetečka explains: “The mill’s structural module is relatively small, measuring primarily 4 by 4 meters. Its original layout, operational logic, and construction were based on a sequential arrangement of vertical spaces: deep grain silos at the main southern facade, a grain cleaning area and staircase, the main milling hall with roller mills and sifters, and the bran storage and flour warehouses.”
The conversion of the unheated industrial mill building into an art gallery with a significant collection necessitated the creation of a secure and stable interior, one that meets the stringent requirements of art lenders and ensures operational efficiency.
TRANSAT architekti based the gallery’s spatial layout on the mill’s original composition, arranging its various functions in a linear sequence of vertical spaces. “Visitor movement is concentrated in the five-story milling hall, which retains its original wooden ceilings supported by a subtle steel frame, and in the adjacent southern part of the building,” says Všetečka. “The collection storage and workspaces are situated in the section with reinforced concrete interior structures, which connects to the milling hall on the northern side.”
TRANSAT architekti has opened up the gallery’s spatial layout in several areas by creating vertical connections between floors. “This is an intentional, newly articulated spatial reference to what was once characteristic of the mill,” says Všetečka. “An imaginary vertical section cuts through the milling hall, channeling daylight from new skylights across three floors.”
The floor and ceiling heights increase as the building rises from the ground floor to the third and fourth floors, where temporary exhibition halls and a multifunctional hall are located; the fourth floor also leads to a rooftop terrace.
On the city-facing side of the mill, TRANSAT architekti preserved the floors and windows in the exhibition spaces. On the courtyard-facing side, the studio removed several floors and sealed windows on the interior, creating uninterrupted exhibition walls — here, the exhibition space spans almost ten meters in height across the third and fourth floors. Nevertheless, the renovation preserves the original structural system as much as possible, which includes exposed brickwork, steel, wood, and concrete.
“The striking spaces of the former milling hall are supported by the original steel structure, which, due to fire safety regulations, had to be encased with steel covering,” explains Všetečka. “The original wooden ceilings are still visible, with minimal new utility installations. The wood from the original ceiling beams was repurposed to create a new staircase in the entrance hall. The facades were restored while preserving the appropriate level of patina.”
As part of the mill’s restoration, the rooftop, which houses climate control equipment, was recessed below the parapet level to maintain a clean silhouette. Double-glazed windows to the interior supplement the mill’s original windows, allowing controlled ventilation. Sun-responsive screen shades and blackout blinds have been fitted to the windows; the skylights are fitted with adjustable aluminum louvers to modulate sunlight.
The mill complex is accessed via Gočár’s symbolic gateway between the main building and grain silo building. The courtyard, once the heart of the mill’s operations, is now a public urban space — its transformation was aided by connecting the courtyard to the riverfront via two passageways on the gallery’s ground floor. The former milling hall, situated between the two passageways, serves as the gallery’s entrance hall; a cafe completes the northern passageway. The exhibition spaces are accessed from a mezzanine in the entrance hall that bridges both passageways.
The floors are connected via a concrete staircase from the 1950s, Gočár’s original stone staircase from 1910 – 1911, and elevators.
Built up area: 827 square meters (8,902 square feet)
Gross floor area: 3,808 square meters (40,989 square feet)
Plot size: 2,446 square meters (26,329 square feet)
