| project: | 2025 |
| design: | Štěpán, Ondra |
| investor: | private |
| location: | Eastern Czechia |
Under one facade
This building was originally a retirement home. An elegant two-storey building with a sandstone plinth, a raised ground floor and single-storey technical annexes at the rear. In the 1990s, following the closure of the retirement home, a residential floor was added above these sections, featuring offset windows and a flat roof made of timber trusses. The result today is a house with an inconsistent appearance in a ‘U’ shape, whose three wings form a shared courtyard. The building comprises two functional units – a smaller private section at the rear of the house and a larger rental section at the front containing five flats. Numerous layout changes over the building’s lifetime have led to a highly chaotic internal arrangement.
The proposed alterations aim to bring the original and the later-added sections closer together, seeking to integrate them both functionally and visually into a single harmonious whole. The basis of the new interior layout is the interconnection of all parts of the house via a single spacious corridor with two stairwells. The new corridor layout is identical on both upper floors. The principle of simplifying and streamlining the flats lies in placing the sanitary facilities at the centre of the layout, which allows the living rooms to be situated by the windows on the façade. In the original layout, the toilets and bathrooms had windows. Thanks to this change, it has been possible to accommodate nine residential units in the building – two private and seven rental. The flats vary in size and in their relationship to the exterior. The private units have access to the south-facing garden, whilst the others share the eastern forecourt of the building and a communal courtyard.
The facade works with plaster in two textures – the coarser texture covers most of the surfaces, whilst the smoother texture serves as a compositional device and helps to distinguish the plinth. In this way, the loose arrangement of openings with varying proportions is unified into a harmonious whole. In terms of colour, the windows, blinds and window sills are coordinated to match the beige tone of the façade. The red entrance door and metalwork fittings provide a vibrant accent. The interior design builds on the existing aesthetic: terrazzo floors, a black plinth, red banisters and light blue stair treads are complemented by delicate, slender lines and round light fittings.
The project aims to refine the house as a whole – to unify its fragmented structure, simplify its functional logic and give the building a distinct character.