“The results of our work remain visible for a very long time. If you do something well, it will be here for decades. If you do it badly, unfortunately, that will be here for decades too.” In this interview, Michal Bystroň, owner of BYSTROŇ Group, explains why the company no longer simply builds according to someone else’s brief, but now decides for itself what to build and who to build it for. Where have they decided to go next?
What was the turning point when you stopped being ‘just’ a construction company?
I don’t think there was one specific moment when we said to ourselves that from now on we were going to operate differently. It was more of a gradual evolution. With each larger contract, we gained experience, our team grew and improved, and we gradually became confident enough to take on bigger and more complex projects.
However, I consider the point when we stopped thinking solely as a construction company that is given a project and expected to deliver it to a high standard to have been an important shift. We began looking much more closely at the entire process – from project preparation and economics, through the construction itself, to bringing the project to life and ensuring it works as intended.
The natural next step was our own property development. At that point, you are no longer simply the contractor. You take responsibility for the entire decision – what you build, who you build it for, how much it will cost, and whether you have correctly anticipated what that particular location will need several years down the line. I think it was this shift that gradually shaped us into the group we are today.
What have projects for universities and the public sector taught you? How important are they for the company’s continued growth?
Public-sector contracts are absolutely crucial for us and form an important part of the entire group. These contracts come with very precisely defined rules, and we have to be able to meet not only the required quality standards and deadlines, but also all contractual and technical requirements. With larger construction projects, this means managing a fairly complex process and coordinating a large number of people and different trades.
Yes, in recent years we have very often worked for the University of Ostrava. In the past, this included several buildings for the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Arts. We are currently constructing a building for the Faculty of Science and working on the former Faculty of Fine Arts building in the centre of Ostrava. Alongside this, we also build sports halls for the public sector. In the past, these have included halls in Nová Bělá, Krásné Pole and Chlebovice, while we are currently building a sports hall in Koblov and preparing for the construction of another in Stará Bělá. We are also frequently involved in the construction of residential care facilities. Following recently completed projects in Krásné Pole and Horní Suchá, as well as the Hortenzie care home in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, we are currently constructing new buildings for the Domeček children’s home in Ostrava and the Větrný mlýn home for people with disabilities near Hranice na Moravě.
The restoration of historic buildings and cultural monuments is another significant and prestigious part of our portfolio. Recent projects have included the renovation of the Ostravica fashion house, while we are currently carrying out extensive restoration work on Bruntál Castle and Žerotín Castle in Nový Jičín. Each of these types of projects gives us different experiences and helps us progress further. In education, we work with the needs of young people and modern teaching methods; sports halls bring specific demands and requirements that do not arise in other segments; in care homes, we create functional and dignified environments for the older generation; and with historic buildings, we restore historic parts of the structures under the close supervision of heritage conservation specialists, sometimes even using technologies and techniques that are no longer taught at vocational schools.
We are currently delivering projects with a total value of more than CZK 1 billion. It is a very diverse portfolio, and what is important is that each of
Nové Lauby in Ostrava has been in use for some time now. How do you view the project with the benefit of hindsight?
Nové Lauby is certainly one of the projects I have a more personal connection to. Firstly, it occupies an exceptionally prominent location just a few steps from Masaryk Square, and secondly, we were not simply acting as a conventional contractor. We were the investors who bought the site, architectural study and project documentation, including the building permit, from the City of Ostrava. Only then did we become the builders.
Today, I think the most important thing is that the building has truly come to life. People live there, the commercial ground floor is operating, and a functioning urban block has been created on a site where, for many years, there was an unattractive car park filling a gap in the urban fabric. Ultimately, that is the best assessment a builder could ask for.
As a builder, of course, you will always see things that, with the experience you have today, you might approach slightly differently. Overall, however, I consider Nové Lauby a very valuable experience and also proof that cooperation between a city and a private investor can work.
Right next to Nové Lauby, you are preparing another major project – Malé Lauby. What stage is the project currently at?
Malé Lauby has undergone some fairly significant changes recently. The original plan envisaged a different use for the building, but after reassessing the project from both an economic and conceptual perspective, we decided to shift it towards residential development. We approached Ateliér Štěpán to create the new design, and they are behind this change. The city has approved the revised proposal, and we are now continuing with the design development and planning approval process.
What is important to us is that this is not an isolated building somewhere on the outskirts of the city. It is a continuation of one of the most significant urban blocks right in Ostrava’s historic centre and, moreover, it directly adjoins Nové Lauby. That is why we approach this project with a great sense of responsibility.
What exactly will Malé Lauby offer? And how will the building contribute to life in the city centre rather than simply serve its residents?
Malé Lauby will primarily be a residential development. We are planning approximately forty flats, but at the same time we want to retain an active ground floor, with spaces that engage with the street and can be used for services or other local amenities. The project will also include parking across three underground levels. The new architecture, which we previously presented to the public, respects its setting – Ostrava’s historic centre – but at the same time, in my view, it does not pretend to have been built a hundred years ago. It is contemporary and of high quality, and I hope it will stand the test of time for decades to come.
I consider an active ground floor particularly important in a city centre. If you build a property with nothing but garage doors or residential windows at street level, it does very little for the street itself. A city centre needs cafés, shops, services, restaurants and other places that encourage people to walk around and give them a reason to stay.
We therefore want Malé Lauby to be more than just a collection of flats. We want it to be a genuine urban building, alive throughout the day, seven days a week.
You are also preparing a new project, Rezidence Písečná. Where will it be located and what will it offer?
Rezidence Písečná will be built in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. This smaller residential development will comprise two separate buildings with approximately twenty flats. As with Malé Lauby, the design is by Ateliér Štěpán.
We are currently in the final stage of the design process and are preparing to submit our application for planning permission, which we plan to do during September. If everything goes according to plan, we would like to begin construction in the spring of next year and complete the entire project within approximately two years.
Will Rezidence Písečná be different from your projects in Ostrava? Who is it primarily intended for, and what will it look like?
Definitely. Rožnov is a completely different environment from the centre of Ostrava, and we have approached the project accordingly from the very beginning. In Ostrava, we focus on urban buildings, the street, active ground floors and life in the city centre. Here, by contrast, the landscape, greenery, mountain views, peace and privacy are much more important. The architecture reflects that as well.
The project makes extensive use of greenery and seeks to respect the character of the surrounding development. We did not want to bring something to Rožnov that works in the centre of Ostrava, but rather to create a building that truly belongs here.
I think the development will appeal particularly to people who want to be close to nature and are looking for a quieter environment for everyday life. That could be families with children or simply people who want to have nature around them. We want it to be a place where people can enjoy both living and relaxing.
Do you find it more interesting to take on a contract, or to be the one making the decisions from the very beginning?
These days, I probably enjoy being involved in a project right from the start more. However, construction for the public sector remains a solid pillar of our business. Property development is often a long-term undertaking, requiring you to keep investing more and more money, while the anticipated profit may not come until the last flat is sold several years later. By contrast, with a public-sector contract, you win the tender, complete the project within a relatively short period, and receive regular payments every month. So it is a completely different model from property development.
But when you are involved in a project from the very first idea, you can influence far more. You have to think about the location, architecture, future users, economics and how the project will function in ten or twenty years’ time. Of course, the risk is considerably greater, but at the same time you have much more influence over the final outcome, and I think that is what we enjoy about it.
For economic reasons, however, we cannot afford to move away from public-sector contracts altogether and focus solely on our own developments. So every year, we allocate part of our capacity to delivering development projects for private investors. Last year, we completed the Bytový komplex Mlýn residential development in Rožnov, and we are currently building the large Nová Polom project for TRIMEX Reality, while also preparing a slightly smaller project in Čeladná for another private investor. So it is still property development, but with us solely in the role of the builder.
When you walk through Ostrava ten years from now, what would you like to see as evidence that BYSTROŇ Group has left its mark on the city?
Construction has one advantage and one disadvantage at the same time – the results of your work remain visible for a very long time. If you do something well, it will be here for decades. And if you do something badly, unfortunately, that will be here for decades too.
So if, one day, BYSTROŇ Group is associated with projects that helped bring housing and life back to the centre of Ostrava, or with high-quality public buildings that have genuine value for the city, I will consider that a good result of the work of everyone at BYSTROŇ Group, without whom none of this could ever have been achieved.
