KINONEKINO transformation of a movie theater into cultural community center

Planá represents a typical example of the Sudet cities – due to the expulsion of the former german population the town lost its memory. The DNA of the place started changing at that time. Cultural community center as an transformation accelerator of the town into the region cultural center. The devastated town icons (castle complex, mint, brewery, former cultural centers) shatter the energy of the western part of the square as well as the entire town of Planá. The town municipality plans to build brand new cultural values motivating people to stay in their hometown and on the other hand to support newcomers in their decisions to move in. The renovation of the building target¬ed to rebuild the cinema into a multifunctional space while keeping the strong axial character. The communication and operational axis pass¬es across the whole building layout connecting town public spaces.

After Communist Takeover (1948) Planá became a military base and a seat of the Border Guard unit. The population structure is greatly influenced by the presence of military units. The newcomers have begun to create values that fit their needs. The object of the original Border Guards’ Cinema was built in the years 19581959 under the socalled Initiative Z (built by people it’s self for people). It was the first major construction work of the local population newly inhabiting the town Planá after the expulsion of the original German population in 1946. This basementless singlestorey object replaced two original town houses within the (current) urban historical monument zone. The technical condition was on the verge of safety and didn‘t meet operational needs a single pur¬pose use of the hall (fixed elevation space), just around 10 visitors per projection. Separated spaces without the possibility of inter¬connection in case of particular need.The main concept of transforming a cinema into a cultural center consists in the creation of separate operational units with the possibility of spatial interconnection according to the requirements of a particular event.

The project‘s and town‘s municipality ambitions target mainly to social sustainability of the locality. The planned intervetions as well as the constructions of the cultural community center action may stimulate a loving relationship in the town which still suffers from the consecution of historical occurences. The building was built on the basis of the results of the architectural competition within a very low level of the investment (1575,5euro/m2 - paid exclusively from own town financial resources) and was awarded by the Ministry of Regional De¬velopment of the Czech Republic within the Czech Architectural Award 2018. Next to it the Town of Planá got an award „The best building of the Pilsen Region 2017“. These achievements are perceived by local residents as a real impulse that the image of the city is beginning to change. The total gross floor area of the building is 725,184m2. The building lies on the same footprint of the former movie theater on plot of size 904 m2.