Boiler house, Libčice nad Vltavou

Architect: Patrick Hoffman
Text: Bálint Botzheim
Photos: BoysPlayNice

An original conversion of a former boiler house into a multi-functional leaseable area for cultural, corporate and social events, with an ambition to become the heart of a future arts & culture district existing in a symbiotic relationship with traditional crafts and technological innovation and preserving, in a unique way, the industrial phase of the city’s development which has significantly influenced the historical context of the place in question. It is another important project contributing to the gradual regeneration of the former large industrial estate of ŠROUBÁRNA (Screw Factory) in Libčice nad Vltavou near Prague which provided people with jobs and a place to live and became a bearer of near 150-year tradition of know-how and craftsmanship in the field of screw and wire production. The brownfield, which currently operates at a fraction of its former capacity, is thus being revived with a plan to preserve and develop the tradition of crafts and manufacturing. The boiler house, together with the already iconic industrial gem of Uhelný Mlýn (the Coal-Grinding Mill), are the beginning of the new UM Valley located in a meander of the Vltava river. It represents a precedent for many other still dilapidated sites.