The most distinctive building from the late 1980s to the early 1990s in Litomyšl was undoubtedly the building of the 2nd Primary School (“U Školek”), situated on a conspicuous site along Tomáše G. Masaryka Street. The project was an attempt at solving the problem of the hitherto cramped conditions at the Teacher Training College (02-22).The design project for this building, with its complicated subdivision and characteristic facade combining red ceramic cladding with light-coloured rendering, features an interesting genesis as a result of, among others, political and social changes after 1989.
The new school complex was begun during what was probably the biggest decline in the building trade – towards the end of the 1980s. When the architect Radim Bárta of the Pardubice centre of Stavoprojekt Hradec Králové took charge of the project in 1987, most buildings were conceived as standardized pavilion structures. Likewise, the school in Litomyšl was to have been of this standardized pavilion structure with a reinforced concrete frame (S 1.2), with reinforced concrete panels inserted. It was to have been made up of classroom, canteen and gym-hall pavilions, with the addition of a boiler house and workshops interconnected via various corridors.
During negotiations, the construction programme was expanded to include a canteen for the grammar school and employees of the former National Town Council, a civilian air-raid shelter for children and a flat for the janitor. However, due to the restricted space, and the slope of the terrain a standardized building could not be erected. The architect therefore, designed a wholly atypical, spatially structured monobloc with a multi-storey layout, with access from both sides – from inside the school for educational purposes, and from outside via independent entrances for the public. The only remaining mandatory requirement for the standardized building was therefore, the application of the reinforced concrete frame S 1.2 and the maximum possible use of reinforced concrete cladding panels.
The urban layout is a direct result of the shape of the building plot and the layout of the nearby former Masaryk District Technical College (04-659) whose longitudinal axis is at a right angle to the main street. The designer placed the four-storey classroom pavilion and main entrance in the rear, quieter, section of the premises facing towards the park. A narrower and lower, two-storey connecting tract stretches towards the main street culminating in the canteen and gym tract. All the public entry points are accessible from the street to the east of the building. Conversely, the entrance for pupils and the play area for children are positioned before the south side of the building, into the calm zone of the undulating hollow, away from the dangers of traffic. The designer defended his decision to apply atypical, red ceramic cladding to the facade, and slatted exterior sun blinds. However, many more design features, such as the use of the roof of the connecting tract as a recreation terrace with greenery, were not accepted by the authorities.
Construction commenced with the rear, classroom section of the monobloc. Social and political changes in 1989 enabled last-minute modifications to the architecture of the remaining sections of the building whilst retaining the general layout. Thus, the front tract acquired a new, “dramatic component” in the form of a quadrilateral side gable. The dynamics of its sloping arm was accentuated by placing its tip into the new attic storey. The planned flat roof at the rear of this tract was replaced with a segmented, metal-clad roof. The unusual element of the outside stairway, roofed over in a similar fashion and providing public access to the first-floor gym, ground-floor canteen and basement canteen (air-raid shelter), is a component of the public space.
From the very beginning of the project, an artwork of vertical composition was planned for the street facade. Originally it was to have been the stone sculpture of a young girl by the sculptor Petr Novák from Jaroměř. However, in line with design changes to the project, the artwork was also reconsidered. The town council announced a design competition for new artwork which was won by two sculptors, Petr Bartoš and Josef Vajce, who both had experience with designing artwork for architecture. The artists created a non-figurative sculpture composed of wooden geometric shapes – “beads” threaded onto a vertical metal pole before the entrance at the outside stairway.
Currently (2019), an extension to the connecting tract, also designed by Radim Bárta, is being constructed which, in spite of disrupting the original layout and proportions of the building, creates indispensible space for four new classrooms.
