Cooperative Grain Storage

The first building of the cooperative complex was the central grain warehouse, strategically located near the main train station. Constructed in 1902 by Václav Nekvasil’s Prague construction company, it was originally a three-story structure. However, in April 1915, the building was destroyed by fire but was reconstructed within the same year. As part of the reconstruction, an additional fourth floor was added, creating the current dominant feature of the complex. The building was designed with a reinforced concrete skeleton structure and is distinguished by its silhouette with two silo towers crowned by mansard roofs. Its compact façade, made of unplastered brickwork, ensures a visually striking and not-monotonous appearance. The elevated ground floor, which housed the ramp for receiving goods, was marked above by a brick cordon cornice. The upper floors were unified by segmentally finished brick ‘high-quality’ lesenes, extending to the third floor, and, in some sections, to the fourth floor. The lattice window openings were equipped with window sills and lintels with obliquely set bricks. The project, including and its subsequent implementation, was led by Josef Novotný from Hradec Králové. 

 

In 1909, the warehouse was expanded along the southeastern edge of the site, adjacent to the railway line, once again following a design by Josef Novotný. A shed with stables and a residential house (No. 305) with a half-hipped roof were built at the sire. In 1937, the original shed with stables was replaced by a more modern ground-floor farm building, which included garages and featured a rectangular floor plan covered with a hipped roof. This modernization was designed and executed by Josef Fňouk. Over the years, the entire complex underwent significant reconstruction, with most of the original structure being altered. Today, only the residential house No. 305 remains in its original form, though it façade has been significantly modified. 

 

On June 5, 1917, the Grain Warehouse Cooperative applied for permission to extend the first floor and attic of the so-called small warehouse, located between grain warehouse No. 898 and residential house No. 305. The ground floor housed a storage area and a molasses processing room, while the newly constructed first floor provided additional storage spaces. A grinding mill ran vertically through the entire building, leading to a tower covered with a mansard roof. The adaptation was designed and executed by Josef Novotný. 

 

In 1920, Společnost stavitelů s. r. o. (Company of Builders Ltd.) designed and constructed several additional buildings within the complex. Along Za Škodovkou Street, a series of single-story brick workshops was built, including a warehouse, an engineering shop, a blacksmith’s shop, a carpentry shop, and a room for the exhibition of farm machinery. In the central part of the complex, a ground-floor warehouse for fertilizer and straw was added, while at the western edge, a one-story residential and administrative building for employees was constructed. Unlike the utilitarian service buildings, this structure featured a more elaborate façade with an avant-corps and a bay window. It was further embellished with a system of cordon and crown cornices, and, in some places, semi-columns. Unfortunately, this architecturally valuable building was demolished in later years as part of ongoing modifications to the complex. 

 

During the 1920s and 1930s, the complex underwent a series of minor expansions, including the addition of a shed extension, garages, toilets, washrooms, and a petrol station. In 1930, František Komárek’s construction company designed and built a pair of single-story brick buildings with rectangular floor plans and gabled roofs along the southern edge of the cooperative’s area. These buildings, a western storehouse for artificial fertilizers and coal and an eastern barn, faced what is now Dvorská Street, which bordered the area to the south. Their unplastered brick façades were modestly decorated with brick lesene frames. Today, only the artificial fertilizer warehouse has been preserved in its authentic condition; the barn was demolished between 2019 and 2020. 

 

On July 25, 1937, the Grain Warehouse Cooperative applied for permission to construct a corner apartment building, administrative premises, and an iron warehouse along what is now Za Škodovkou Street. The V-shaped complex was built in 1938 according to a design by Josef Fňouk. The modernist, purist-inspired wing No. 592. Located near the grain warehouse, housed administrative offices on the ground floor and six apartments on the upper floors. The simple rectangular volume, with its smooth façade and a composition of windows in varying sizes and shapes, was distinguished by a rounded southeast corner. Adjacent to this, the wing containing the iron warehouse, positioned to the northwest, was slightly taller and had a purely utilitarian façade. Unfortunately, recent insensitive modifications have obscured the architectural quality of Fňouk’s original design. 

 

Today, the former cooperative complex is used by various companies, primarily for storage purposes. The central warehouse remained operational until 1993. An attempt to designate this well-preserved structure as an immovable cultural monument was unsuccessful. In 2017, the neglected warehouse was purchased by Defekta ND, which announced plans for its gradual reconstruction. Now known as Hradec Granary (Hradecká Sýpka), the building has been repurposed for cultural events and activities. 

 

KK