Excerpt: The pavilion KVIFF.TV Park, designed by CHYBIK + KRISTOF, serves as a multifunctional space for the visitors of the highly anticipated Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The building provides a space for discussions with creators, meetings with actors, and fun competitions, as well as a relaxation zone and a place for the presentations. The design of this vibrant venue draws inspiration from the spa environment that envelops it.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a highly esteemed annual film festival with a rich heritage, recognised as a prominent event within its category in Europe. To enhance the visitor’s experience, the programme was complemented by the addition of the multifunctional area of KVIFF.TV Park. The building provides a space for discussions with creators, meetings with actors, and fun competitions, but at the same time, it also serves as a relaxation zone and a place for the presentations of the festival’s partners and sponsors.
The construction of the park employed height-adjustable modules that create a spacious colonnaded area. Originally conceived for the 56th edition, this temporary modular structure was designed as a timeless alternative, eschewing disposability in favour of enduring elegance. As in the previous year, the pavilion will add a new dimension to the festival and is poised to become a cherished gathering point for festival attendees.
The reborn pavilion: The city of Karlovy Vary stands as the preeminent spa town in the Czech Republic, attracting the highest number of visitors. When designing KVIFF.TV Park, the architects considered the local context of the spa tradition as the foundation of their approach. By building the modules from which the pavilion is made vertically, they created an elevated colonnade space.
The colour and raw processing of the admitted steel structure and the red furniture refer to the brutalist architecture of the neighbouring Hotel Thermal, built between 1967 and 1976 according to the design of husband-and-wife architects Věra and Vladimír Machonin. The pavilion serves as a temporary counterpart to this distinctive modern icon. Architect Ondřej Chybík, the co-founder of the esteemed CHYBIK + KRISTOF studio, elucidates, “Our intention was to establish a temporary sibling to this distinguished exemplar of modern architecture.”
Following last year’s festival, the organisers dismantled the imaginary sixth colonnade and stored the modules at the production plant, where they underwent minor modifications. The most notable change from the previous year lies in the lighting fixtures, which the authors and organisers adapted to align with this year’s festival’s graphic identity. Thanks to LED technology, both the intensity and colour of the lighting can be adjusted during this year’s event.
While incorporating neon lights, the concept of the pavilion remains consistent. It will serve as a venue for the festival’s accompanying program throughout the day and night. The adaptable space facilitates two distinct modes of operation. During the day, it hosts talks, meetups, and film quizzes, while in the evening, it seamlessly transforms into a lively bar with a dance floor that reverberates into the late hours. The immediate vicinity of the pavilion, along with the riverside embankment by the Teplá River, also provides a relaxing zone for festival visitors.
Modular Hotspot: The architects have thoughtfully divided the space within the pavilion into distinct functional zones, catering to various festival needs. These zones include lounges for festival partners, a prominent main bar with a stage, and a gallery on the second floor that houses VIP areas and seating. The pavilion offers a welcoming space for meetings, relaxation, or enjoying music productions. With its unique indoor-outdoor design, the pavilion ensures natural air circulation, creating a comfortable backdrop for festival visitors throughout the day.
Comprising forty-one vertical and eighteen horizontal modules, the pavilion spans an impressive width of eighteen metres and a length of nearly thirty meters. Standing at a height of six metres and encompassing two floors, this modular structure can accommodate up to a thousand visitors. One of the key advantages of the pavilion lies in its low-maintenance construction, upkeep, and potential for reuse.
Architect Ondřej Chybík emphasises, “KVIFF.TV Park becomes an integral part of the festival, enhancing the atmosphere and harmonising with the local context. The concept of a modular building allows for efficient space utilisation during the festival, all without necessitating significant alterations to the structure or appearance of the city.”
With a longstanding involvement in constructing prefabricated modules, the architects Ondřej Chybík and Michal Krištof have an impressive track record. Noteworthy examples of their expertise include the design of the Czech Republic Pavilion at the World Expo 2015, showcasing their adeptness in module-based architecture. Additionally, in collaboration with KOMA, CHYBIK + KRISTOF completed the Modular Research Center in Vizovice in 2022 and unveiled plans for the development of an entire modular village, further exemplifying their forward-thinking approach to construction and design.
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