DADA DISTRIKT

With real estate prices in the Czech Republic among the highest in Europe, the local market faces a shortage of affordable housing and an increasing need for alternative development models that also enhance the quality of public space.
DADA Distrikt offers a locally unique response to this challenge. A former storage facility has been adapted into a mixed-use residential complex with a variety of shared and community spaces. Its relatively economical reconstruction was made possible through shared funding and direct sales, avoiding additional developer margins and real estate agency fees.
The building is located adjacent to the brownfields of the historic industrial Zbrojovka area in Brno, facing the river Svitava, which is currently activated only by a bike lane but bears the potential of becoming a key mediating element of the district. With this intention we designed a corner entrance to the building, transforming the intended residential function into a high-quality urban and urban-communicating multifunctional facility. At ground level, a generous open-plan layout accommodates commercial and office spaces, further strengthening the connection to the street.
The project embraces the building’s industrial aesthetics as an added value. Today’s real estate market increasingly values spaces with overlapping functions, and even more so when these carry a sense of history and complexity. This approach is reflected in the decision to preserve elements such as the elevator car in the courtyard. Rather than being removed, it is treated as a sculptural artifact—a frozen trace of the building’s past that becomes a distinctive, luxurious feature of the project.
Each adaptive reuse project must respond to the specific potential and complexity of the existing structure. In the case of DADA Distrikt, the inspiration draws from the historical interplay between industrial functionality and decorative façade elements. Original features, such as the rounded corner of the staircase, were carefully preserved and highlighted, contributing to the building’s unique identity.
Designed as a shell-and-core system, the primary load-bearing structure was stripped back to its most essential, and therefore most robust, form. This process revealed new possibilities for organizing the layout. In adaptive reuse, it is crucial to be guided by the building itself and work with its inherent logic and essence; imposing a contrary approach often leads to disproportionate costs or reduced functionality.