CAV HUB Pezinok

Faculty of Architecture and Design STU in Bratislava

Project idea

The project follows to respond to current trends in brownfield regeneration and sustainable urban development by creating a flexible spatial framework. A key objective at the architectural level is to balance industrial relics with new interventions. Based on analyses, the study defines which structural elements are justified to be preserved, which should be adapted, and which ought to be supplemented with a new layer. The raw spatial framework of the production halls is transformed into an open, multifunctional urban ecosystem with a continuous life cycle (24/7), thereby providing the locality with a missing vibrant sub-center with both daytime and nighttime operations.

CREATIVE FERMENTATION: Just as wine requires time, the right environment, and a fermentation process within concrete tanks to transform grapes into a refined beverage, a young artist (or design student) requires a stimulating environment to elevate an initial idea into a work of art or a high-quality product. The project transforms former winemaking tanks and halls – once defined by the fermentation of wine – into incubators for the fermentation of ideas, art, and design. The raw industrial mass is thus transfigured into a living culture.

Project description

The presented project addresses the conversion of a former industrial complex of wineries in Pezinok. Following the decline of wine production, a collection of specific, architecturally and structurally challenging buildings remained within the premises – primarily large-capacity halls, fermentation tanks, and technical infrastructure tied to the original production process. The objective of the assignment was to critically reassess this existing building substance and propose a new, meaningful future for the site on both a programmatic level and within the architectural concept. A key question was how to balance industrial relics with new interventions. Analytically, the study defines which structural elements are justified to be preserved, which should be adapted, and which ought to be removed. Concurrently, it compares the rigid approach of fixed functional programming with the concept of creating a flexible framework that would allow spaces to adapt to diversified and time-changing forms of use. The thesis aims to formulate a design strategy that sensitively responds to the specific character of the place (genius loci) while ensuring its long-term sustainability, operation, and organic integration into a new cultural and social context.

The conversion project of the former Pezinok Winery transforms an abandoned industrial giant into an open, multifunctional urban ecosystem with a continuous 24/7 life cycle. Its monofunctional industrial past is transformed into three new pillars: Craft, Art, and Vin (Wine). The project's philosophy is built on a parallel between the making of fine wine and the creation of a piece of art. Both processes require raw material, craftsmanship, time to mature, and an inspiring environment.

CRAFT (The School): The Secondary School of Applied Arts brings the tradition of honest craftsmanship back to the area in a modern guise (glass, ceramics, product design).

ART (Studios and Gallery): Concrete fermentation tanks are symbolically transformed into creative laboratories – incubators of ideas where artists create, live, and exhibit.

VIN (Winery and Events): Wine production returns to its roots, revitalizing the complex’s ground floor and opening it to the public through gastronomy and events

CAV HUB is not just new architecture; it is a place where ideas ferment, and art matures.

URBAN PLANNING SOLUTION
The urban planning concept is based on a multi-level urban mix (socio-economic, functional, and stratigraphic), ensuring a gradually layered transformation that avoids one-sided gentrification and respects the site's industrial values.
Socio-Economic Mix: Establishes social sustainability by integrating job opportunities, creative industries, education, and civic amenities within walking distance. The design creates a vibrant 24/7 environment where students, artisans, professionals, and visitors naturally coexist from day to night.
Functional Mix: Organized around three main pillars—CRAFT, ART, and WIN (Wine)—the project supports all-day and week-long activity, reduces transport demands, and activates the ground floor (parter) toward public spaces.
Stratigraphic Mix: Manifests through the vertical layering of functions and temporal adaptation. The ground floor (1.NP) and lower levels are strictly reserved for public and productive programs (active partner, commercial units, workshops, event hall, gallery), while the higher vertical extensions accommodate quieter zones such as creative studios and short-term artist housing. Concurrently, preserved industrial structures are reinterpreted as key bearers of the city's identity.

Technical information

GENERAL STRUCTURAL APPROACH
The overarching engineering and design principle of the project is based on a strict material and structural separation between the original industrial substance and the new architectural interventions—the concept of "new within old." The primary reinforced concrete and steel load-bearing frameworks of the existing halls are cleaned, remediated, and left in their raw visual state to honor the site's industrial heritage. To minimize dead load on these historical structures, all new functional cores, internal floors, and vertical extensions are implemented using modern dry construction technologies, specifically lightweight steel skeletons, Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) panels, and high-performance glazed facade systems.

Winery (VIN HUB)
The winery hub integrates heavy production technology with representative public functions within a preserved large-span reinforced concrete frame. Due to high live loads and strict hygiene standards in the wine processing and tank management zones, the floors are executed as heavy-duty, polyurethane-based industrial resin screeds featuring integrated stainless steel drainage channels. Administrative sections and tasting areas are subdivided using acoustic plasterboard partitions framed in aluminum profiles. The building envelope features a subtle structural aluminum triple-glazing system combined with natural stone cladding and integrated exterior solar louvers for solar heat gain regulation.

Secondary School of Applied Arts (CRAFT School)
The school introduces an open educational environment organized around a central sunlit atrium. Structurally, it utilizes an independent internal system made of CLT panels inserted directly into the original industrial hall, introducing natural material accents while improving acoustics and indoor microclimate. Because the specialized craft workshops host high-temperature kilns (glass and ceramics), the spaces undergo specific structural adaptations. These include fire- and chemical-resistant flooring, fire-protective cladding on structural elements, and an oversized HVAC network with localized exhaust systems for technical fumes. The exterior perimeter combines original brick masonry with an aluminum curtain wall system equipped with active solar shading.

Gallery and Creative Center (ART HUB)
Representing the most radical conversion on-site, the massive structure of monolithic concrete fermentation tanks is reinterpreted as a spatial labyrinth. Openings are formed through the thick walls via progressive diamond cutting technology. To ensure static stability, the weakened walls are reinforced with post-tensioned carbon fiber laminates (CFRP strips) and rolled steel profiles (HEB/HEA grids). The raw concrete surfaces, retaining authentic stains from tartaric acid, are treated with a transparent hydrophobic coating to prevent dusting while preserving the original patina. The gallery envelope utilizes transparent triple-glazing on the ground floor level (ground floor) and transitions to a translucent polycarbonate facade on the second floor (1st floor), anchored by two prominent vertical circulation cores.

Retail and Shared Studios
Directly adjoining the gallery on the second floor, the commercial and incubator units feature a highly flexible layout. The structural dividers between individual studios consist of plasterboard partitions with above-standard mineral insulation for acoustic decoupling. To maximize deep daylighting and maintain visual interaction with the gallery corridors, the workspaces are enclosed by frameless, all-glass partitions in aluminum profiles. The floors are finished with power-smoothed exposed concrete or high-load marmoleum to ensure durability and low maintenance during artistic activities.

Guest houses (Accommodation above Tanks)
The residential studio apartments are designed as a lightweight, rhythmized vertical extension placed directly on top of the heavy concrete tank block. To eliminate wet processes and minimize static load transfer to the base, the structure utilizes an ultra-lightweight timber frame (CLT) or a modular Light Gauge Steel (LGS) system. Adhering to the principle of visual gradation, the heavy concrete base contrasts with the lightweight extension, which features generous glazing opening onto a semi-public communal roof garden. The exterior is finished with a ventilated facade made of wooden slats, materially distinguishing the residential layer from the industrial foundation.

Multifunctional Event Hall
The conversion of the main production hall into a large-scale cultural venue preserves the monumental height and openness of the original volume. While the primary reinforced concrete skeleton remains intact, the roof trusses are locally reinforced with steel space frames to safely support heavy stage rigging, lighting ramps, and audio systems. The original roof envelope was entirely replaced with a modern acoustic sandwich panel system with high sound absorption and thermal insulation performance to prevent noise leakage to the exterior. The ground floor consists of a heavy-duty, steel-fiber-reinforced concrete slab with a power-troweled, dry-shake topper finish designed to withstand high point loads from mobile acoustic walls, telescopic stands, and heavy event equipment.

Documentation

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