Czech studio Chybik + Kristof has completed its redesign of Brno's Zvona?ka Bus Terminal, a brutalist building that the architects fought to preserve in a self-initiated project.
Chybik + Kristof first reached out to the site's owners ten years ago with a proposal to restore and redesign the 1988 building by architect Radúz Russ in Brno, Chezch Republic.
The removal of internal walls opened up the bus station onto the city
Though it was still in use, the structure wasn't being maintained and was increasingly falling apart.
After picking up attention for the project on social media and drawing the public authorities and private stakeholders into dialogue, Chybik + Kristof received funding for the work in 2015 and have now seen it through to completion. Without their intervention, the station would likely have continued to decay and eventually be at risk of demolition, like its internationally renowned brutalist counterparts in Prague, the Hotel Praha and Transgas buildings.
Light shining both upwards into the structure and downwards into the terminal connects the architecture and the space underneath
The architects are ardent campaigners for the preservation of architectural heritage, and try to foster appreciation for the intriguing aesthetic and raw material qualities of brutalism.
"Demolitions are a global issue," said studio co-founder Michal Kristof. "Our role as architects is to engage in these conversations and demonstrate that we no longer operate fro...