A unique opportunity for the public to be presented with the history and the future of the Nová Zbrojovka
On Saturday, June 9, the real estate investment company CPI Property Group organised an "Open Gate Day" of the Nová Zbrojovka project in celebration of its 100th anniversary. The opening of the site was a unique sightseeing opportunity for the public due to the area’s recent closure for the revitalisation works. Thousands of visitors were informed not only with the history of Zbrojovka but also with the current process of work and the initial architectural designs for the possible future framework of the multifunctional complex Nová Zbrojovka.
CPI Property Group has owned the Zbrojovka complex since 2016. Under the name of Nová Zbrojovka, the twenty-hectare brownfield in central Brno will be created into a lively, modern and very accessible neighbourhood. The new district, which will provide high-quality housing opportunities, a varied range of services, shopping and relaxation opportunities, naturally connects to surrounding urban areas and transport infrastructure. The total investment will be in the tens of billions of Czech crowns.
Nová Zbrojovka’s "Open Gate Day" – Saturday 9 June
The CPI Property Group prepared a tour with information panels detailing the past, present and future of the Zbrojovka complex, including a number of visitor surprises. For those visitors who are interested in vehicles, there was plenty to see on offer. Vehicles produced directly in the area (Z-branded vehicles, Zetor tractors), the project’s current construction machines (demolition excavators, multifunctional construction machines and loaders), and state-of-the-art drones (multi-rotor unmanned machines for photogrammetry including special racing drones) were part of the exhibition in one of the original factory halls. For the first time in history, visitors were also able to look into the area’s historical aspect of underground civil defence.
Architectural studies – the transparent basis for the site’s future
The vast territory where the new city district will be built will gradually be revived, so the complex has been divided into six contingent zones. Individual zones may include office buildings, residential and business areas with a public space for leisure activities.
The architectural design has been commissioned by several architectural offices, which have sent studies of possible use. These introductory studies will be discussed in the coming months between the owner, the representative of Brno, the city of Brno’s architect offices, the professional and the lay public and potential future tenants.
"By presenting the initial ideas and proposals, from the leading architectural offices, we are opening the discussion about the future shape of the premises with the professional and lay public. Although this seems highly unusual for a private project, it demonstrates our transparent approach to building a new community of Brno. Our investment in the Nová Zbrojovka project will be in the tens of billions of crowns over the coming years," said Zdeněk Havelka, CPI Property Group Executive Director.
This is the largest brownfield in central Brno where we want it to become a functioning and attractive part of the city, yet without the mutual cooperation of investors, this would not be possible. From the city’s perspective, it is mainly the cooperation with the technical infrastructure, i.e. engineering networks and roads," said Richard Mrázek, Deputy Mayor of Brno for Property and Investment.
As part of Nová Zbrojovka’s "Open Gate Day", an inquiry form was published, where the public has the opportunity to express their opinion on the future design of the project’s public space. Everyone is able to write an idea of what kind of object for leisure, sports or cultural activities would be welcome in the area.
The 2019 restoration of the former tool-making building
The owner of the complex has decided to maintain buildings whose statics will allow for reconstruction. The first place to be restored in Nová Zbrojovka will be the former tool-making building. One of the centres of former industrial production will be transformed into a modern office building at the end of 2019, corresponding to the highest demands on the quality of work environment in the 21st century.
The building is currently undergoing complete reconstruction and revitalisation. There are three lofted floors offering a unique working environment. A roof terrace with a magnificent view of Brno will be available to all tenants. The building will also include a representative lobby with a central reception, a shop, dining, fitness and bicycle rooms with parking provided in the building and in its immediate vicinity.
The area’s ecological revitalisation
CPI Property Group takes an ecologically responsible approach to all its activities in the area and minimizes the impact of demolition and construction work on its surroundings. Statically disturbed buildings and dilapidated technological units are removed using state-of-the-art techniques with maximum use of organic recycling. In less than a year, the volume of material that would otherwise have to be carried by more than 10,000 trucks was recycled. To date, 50,000 tons of brick and 80,000 tons of concrete have already been sorted.
After the demolition of structures and the tearing down of the walls, building components will be separated into wooden waste, metal reinforcements and concrete rubble from brick. All the material obtained will be sorted and stored on-site, the wooden material is recycled and processed into chipboard; metal waste sorted for further processing; brick and concrete slag are separately crushed in a mobile recycling plant.
The resulting recycled particle material will be used as filler to uneven foundation footings. The concrete recycled material will be used in the underlying layers of new pavements. In this way, most of the demolition materials will be reused. The only residual municipal waste was left in the halls by previous users. Thanks to the recycling of rubble on-site, this does not overburden the neighbourhood with heavy truck traffic or use landfills for waste disposal. Using recycled concrete in the construction of roads in the area makes ecological and economic sense.
Drones and aerial photogrammetry
CPI Property Group uses state-of-the-art technology throughout all stages of site revitalisation. The JamCopters company in Brno was selected for services provided by unmanned vehicles – drones. As part of the Nová Zbrojovka project, JamCopters provides comprehensive aeronautical activities in the form of
- photogrammetric mapping of the site,
- time-lapse documentation of the construction,
- inspection and monitoring flights, including
- thermal imaging and multispectral recording,
- 360° photo / video
- and other deployments – from technical capture to data processing.
Photogrammetry is a very fast and operational method of contactless measurement. Thanks to this, it is possible to reconstruct a three-dimensional model of the current state based on the photographs taken. The result is a digital representation of the scanned area in the form of an orthophotomap or 3D models, which are used for accurate measurements, geographic and cartographic calculations, visualisations and simulations.
With the use of aerial photogrammetry and unmanned vehicles, CPI Property Group has a unique set of data immediately available online. For site workers, high-resolution maps and 3D spatial models of the site are available. These can be combined with existing technologies and building documentation, which brings new possibilities. Measurement of distances, areas and volumes is not limited to existing drawings but can be contactlessly measured directly on the entire digital model of the site, e.g. the volumes of material obtained during demolition for further processing. With regular mappings, you can clearly visualise the course of construction over time, including a comparison with a building plan or a visualisation of the construction difference between two points on the timeline.
In the future, prospects will be able to see the possible features of the entire neighbourhood through 360 ° virtual tours. They will see the entire construction process in an airtime track record, and future residents will be able to see through the virtual reality technologies the possible design of housing and the corresponding city view. From the historical point of view, it was also possible to capture and document in detail the original design of this important industrial area. Unique shots will be published on the Nová Zbrojovka project Facebook page.
