A House Within | Malý Chmel

The final exhibition curated by Michal Škoda at the House of Art in České Budějovice presents the work of the architectural studio Malý Chmel. A temporary spatial intervention — the insertion of a house of six rooms into the gallery’s original space — transforms the exhibition into an architectural experience.

The title A House Within carries a double meaning.
Symbolically, it refers to the exhibition’s intention to present architecture as a spatial experience.
The inserted house transforms the way one moves, sees, and perceives light and detail, offering a space for calm and focus. Through a narrow slit, it is still possible to glimpse the gallery’s original interior.

Literally, the title also relates to the place itself, as one of the models represents the planned renovation of the House of Art.
The winning design of the architectural competition, created by Malý Chmel in collaboration with the Berlin-based studio AFF Architekten, has already obtained building permission and detailed construction documentation, but its realization has been postponed by the City of České Budějovice until after 2028.

Models that Draw You In

Inside the newly created “inner house,” large-scale architectural models are presented, crafted specifically for this exhibition. These are not merely project representations – they are autonomous objects that can be walked around, viewed from inside and outside, read as designs, and experienced as spaces. They convey the studio’s approach rooted in spatial intuition, carrying atmosphere and materiality. Together with the new exhibition structure, they create situations that aspire to be architecture in themselves.

The showcased projects reveal various phases and scales of the studio’s work – from solitary houses in the landscape to large-scale public buildings. The exhibition begins with the model of the planned House of Art reconstruction, while the other projects are united by a consistent approach to context, scale, and structure.

Architecture as Experience

The exhibition does not tell a linear story – it offers a space to be walked through and experienced. The models, scale, light, and structure of the new inner house form an environment where architecture can be perceived through all senses. Malý Chmel demonstrates that architecture is not merely a result but a process – an act of searching, assembling, and shaping spaces that have meaning.

A House Within is both a retrospective and an exhibition experiment. It raises the question of how architecture can be presented so that it becomes an experience rather than a description. Between permanence and temporality, between built reality and its representation, the exhibition invites visitors into a world where all architecture begins with the search for space.

Photography: Matej Hakár