Brno Municipal Building: Institutional Intervention in Historic Core

The New Brno Municipal Building rises behind the existing city hall on Malinovského náměstí, inside Brno’s historic urban ring. It reorganizes how public administration engages with the city not as a symbolic gesture but as a functional and urban recalibration aligned with cities planning principles.

Composite architectural presentation of the New Brno Municipal Building, showing street-level views, interior atrium, sectional cut, massing study, and urban integration diagrams with material samples. — Architectural concept board for the New Brno Municipal Building, developed by student Bc. Markéta Čermáková under supervision of prof. Ing. arch. Michal Sedláček at Faculty of Architecture, Brno University of Technology. Includes renderings, section, massing, site analysis, and material palette. (Courtesy of Faculty of Architecture, Brno University of Technology)

Site and Urban Context

Pedestrian flows, transit lines, and civic buildings intersect here. The design responds with precise massing and scale. It completes the urban edge and shapes transitional voids to sustain continuity in the historic fabric a priority in current research on urban renewal.

Architectural Composition and Massing

A prior volumetric study set height limits and proportions. Stepped forms reduce visual weight in the square. The New Brno Municipal Building preserves sightlines and integrates into its surroundings rather than standing apart. This approach addresses a core challenge in governmental architectural design within heritage zones.

Night view of Malinovského náměstí in Brno, Czech Republic, showing the historic National Theatre and surrounding urban fabric under snow, with tram tracks and streetlights illuminating the square. — Malinovského náměstí at night during winter, illustrating the urban context where the New Brno Municipal Building will integrate behind the existing city hall. The scene includes the National Theatre, tram infrastructure, and snow covered public space. (Image © City of Brno / Urban Planning Department)

Internal Functional Organization

The layout unifies citizen services under one interface and groups departmental offices separately. Public and staff routes stay distinct. A central reception and flexible waiting areas follow proven models in interior design for civic efficiency.

Flexibility and Expandability

The building initially houses 550 employees and can expand to 980. Its plan allows future reconfiguration without major structural changes reflecting long term institutional construction strategies.

Existing buildings on Malinovského náměstí in Brno, Czech Republic, viewed from behind overgrown vegetation, showing the urban context for the future New Brno Municipal Building. — View of the existing municipal complex on Malinovského náměstí, captured from an elevated green space. The image documents the current urban fabric and building typologies that the New Brno Municipal Building will respond to. (Image © City of Brno / Urban Documentation Archive)

Facades and Materials

Designers selected durable, neutral materials like local stone or composite systems. These harmonize visually without copying adjacent buildings. Glazed public zones use solar control glass to balance transparency and thermal performance key concerns in modern building materials discourse.

Digital Integration and Sustainability

The New Brno Municipal Building supports self service kiosks and adaptable digital infrastructure. Daylight optimization, natural ventilation, and smart building systems embed operational sustainability from day one.

Architectural Snapshot
The New Brno Municipal Building redefines the presence of public institutions in historic urban centers through massing and organization, not symbolic form.

Street view of the future site for the New Brno Municipal Building, showing existing civic buildings, road signage, and perimeter fencing under a clear sky. — The designated site for the New Brno Municipal Building, captured from a street-level perspective near Malinovského náměstí. The image documents existing infrastructure, traffic patterns, and adjacent administrative buildings that will frame the new structure. (Image © City of Brno / Urban Development Office)

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

This project is the logical outcome of intersecting daily mobility patterns and administrative workflows that prioritize clarity, throughput, and operational separation. Preceding the form is a dense decision framework shaped by heritage protection codes, layered approval processes, and public-sector risk management tied to long-term funding and accountability. These pressures systematically eliminate unpredictable spatial alternatives and favor expandable, regulation compliant systems. Architecture emerges last as an effect of service consolidation, route segregation, and future-capacity planning embedded from inception. The resulting massing and organization are not symbolic acts but the byproduct of institutional caution, continuity of operations, and a cultural assumption that public authority should integrate into the city without altering existing power or access structures.