Progresus Group handed over a new café module to the city of Karlovy Vary

"In 2023, we already implemented the construction of a temporary basic module at the festival, which was a great success with visitors. Since the cooperation with all stakeholders has been excellent, this year's project has been conceived as more permanent and thus more sustainable," says Lukáš Zrůst, co-owner of the Progresus Group. The module from last year was purchased by Adria Gold immediately after the event and turned into a shop for its premium ice cream in the South Moravian town of Nivnice. "We are glad that the film festival brings value to the city of Karlovy Vary not only during the festival, but also outside of it. We are pleased to be at the birth of a deeper cooperation between our partners and the city," said Kryštof Mucha, the festival's executive director.

The modular wooden building stands in Dvořák Gardens and was officially handed over to the city on 1 July 2024. For the duration of the festival, the so-called Progresus Café is run by the team of the well-known SmetanaQ café. It serves visitors daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. as a relaxation area with refreshments available. The module called Double Coffee designed for the café space was chosen by the representatives of the city of Karlovy Vary and is tailored to their technical needs and the requirements of the monuments. "The city is trying to improve public places and the Dvořák Gardens opposite the Thermal Hotel are calling for a relaxing break with a good coffee or drink. At the same time, we know that the entire Gardens will be revitalised in the future, so the modular solution from RD Rýmařov is ideal for us. We were therefore happy to take up the idea that the representatives of the festival and Progresus came up with. The park is not encumbered by a solid structure and we have open possibilities for the future," says the Mayor of Karlovy Vary Ing. Andrea Pfeffer Ferklová, MBA.

With regard to the zoning regulations and the possibility of further development of the site, the module is supplemented by a gazebo with a rest area and a dispensing window with the possibility of consumption inside in case of bad weather. In agreement with the conservationists, the space is surrounded on three sides by a terrace, which refers to the style of the spa colonnade. "The great advantage of the timber buildings is precisely their ease of customisation from a prepared basic catalogue range, the production of parts in the indoor hall, the use of natural materials and easy transport to the site. Experienced experts from RD Rýmařov only needed a few days to build the module, when they did not burden the surroundings with excessive noise and dust," says Radim Stroka, Production Director of RD Rýmařov. 

After the end of the festival, the space will be taken over by a new long-term tenant, who will adapt it to their specific requirements. If anyone is interested in this type of commercial wooden building, they will find it in the catalogue offer of the RD Rýmařov production plant.

"We believe that the space will serve its visitors well during its operation. They will have a personal opportunity to experience how pleasant the climate in wooden buildings is throughout the year," concludes Lukáš Zrůst on behalf of the Progresus Group.

Module parameters:

• built-up area of the module: 44.28 m2;
• built-up area including terraces: 139.78 m2;
• facilities: water supply, electricity, sewage disposal, air conditioning unit;
• the terrace is made of larch planks as well as the structure of the gazebo with natural impregnation and allowed to age naturally;
• the module is positioned as a temporary structure and stands on 41 earth screws; 
• the complete realization including location, transport, site preparation and connection was lovingly carried out by RD Rýmařov, a member of the Progresus group.

You can watch a video of the construction process here.

You can watch the handover report here.