Open Budějovice Budvar

The brewery is a vast and complex machine with a significant logistics system. Visitors will be integrated into this machine in the simplest and most rational way via a “skywalk” route that respects the logistics while also making observers an organic part of it. The visitor center has been designed along the existing features, aiming for simple and reasonable solutions.

Parking

The 432-space parking house is part of the operational machinery, designed to be compact and functional. The ground floor is left free for factory logistics, while above it provides parking across four levels. Thanks to its prefabricated steel structure, it can be quickly constructed, dismantled, and reused. The solar panels installed on the roof provide sufficient energy for the building’s operation and for charging electric vehicles.

Beergarden

The beer garden is a popular and defining community space in European beer culture. Therefore in Budvar it is also a beer garden that serves as the starting point of the visitor experience, where both locals and visitors can relax under the trees. The beer garden opens towards the city, it is inviting and welcoming, while also being an intimate and sheltered area, bordered by a gastro building from the street and the new bottling hall from the brewery.

Gastro

The gastro building is located in the existing information building of the brewery. Within the transformation of the existing building structure, we placed the iconic Budvarka on the ground floor and a larger-capacity bistro and kitchen on the upper floor. The ground floor is transparent and open in all directions, making the upper floor appear to float among the tree canopies.

Malt House

The oldest building of the brewery is the malt house, which now stands unused in the heart of the factory, surrounded by operational buildings that have developed over the years. This building will house the new visitor center, which humbly follows the logic of the original structure and spatial configuration. The entrance is elevated from the logistics ground floor to the first floor, where the skywalk connects, and from where all the (guided and free) visitor routes begin and return. On this level, there is also a shop and a café. Below the reception level, at the level of the logistics yard, there will be a “micro brewery lab” and workshop space, while the second floor will host exhibitions, and the roof level will have an open event space with a gallery. The hundred-year-old beams of the attic are illuminated by a new glass roof, creating a pleasant “botanical garden” atmosphere in the event space.

Skywalk

The skywalk is a new visual element that weaves through the brewery, defining the visitor route, from which we can observe the factory’s operations closely yet in a coordinated manner, separate from logistics. Elevated from the ground floor, the tubular steel structure is similar to the operational pipes that already network the area. The skywalk starts from the street, from the space next to the water tanks, which can be accessed by crossing the zebra from the parking house or from the sidewalk of the beer garden. Starting from the stairs or the lift, the visitor route begins, first arriving at the internal logistics yard, and then ascending to the level of the visitor centre entrance. At this point, we can enter the visitor centre, from where guided tours continue, or we can explore the exhibition located in the tower and enjoy the gradually unfolding panorama from the top. The next section of the skywalk provides a glimpse into the brewery’s large copper kettles, connects to the cellars and beer tanks, passes in front of the old bottling facility, and then returns to the same level of the visitor centre.

Tower

The tower, as a central vertical element, serves multiple purposes. Firstly, as a symbol, it is an iconic feature of the brewery, recognizable from afar, helping with orientation and attracting curious visitors like a magnet. The tower nostalgically evokes the former chimney of the brewery, referring back to traditional industrial architecture. It can also be compared to the church tower standing on the main square of the city centre, indicating that the visitor centre is an important new community space in the industrial district. Additionally, it has a functional role, as the tower provides new vertical access to the visitor centre located in the malt house and continues the “skywalk as a visitor experience” vertically through the exhibition spaces to the panorama terrace.