BRIEF:

The main objective was to design a concept for a family house (182 m² + 40 m² terrace + garden) with a sculptor’s studio (84 m²). The house is located in the Prague 6 district. The original building was among the first houses in this area; however, it had long been in a poor condition before coming into the ownership of the current clients. Over the years, the original “village-like” character of the surroundings has also changed significantly due to insensitive interventions and oversized new developments in the area.

Due to the poor structural condition, it was not possible to preserve the original house. At the same time, it was necessary to add a new sculptor’s studio with a garage in the rear part of the plot, in place of the original dilapidated annexes. The chosen approach was to document the ornamental street façade, which was then rebuilt as an exact replica based on the original reference. The rear part of the house together with the studio was designed as a new structure, responding to contemporary requirements for both living and working.
The main aim of the project is a sensitive connection between the old and the new, with respect to the original character of the site. Over time, the house is intended to gradually “disappear” into its own tree-filled garden and function as a calm oasis separated from the surrounding development.

CONCEPT:

The fundamental idea of the design is the connection between the interior of the house and the exterior garden. This is reflected in the choice of natural materials in neutral tones, which repeatedly appear throughout the entire house:
wood (natural oak – floors, built-in furniture, internal window frames),
stone (wall cladding, exterior garden wall),
metal (staircase, selected structural elements and the inserted steel structure within the studio),
glass (large-format windows visually blurring the boundary between interior and exterior),
and ceramics (tiles).

The ground floor is conceived as the heart of the house, a space intended for everyday life, designed to feel as open and interconnected as possible. Large double-leaf glazed doors are placed in the entrance hall, allowing a fluid transition into the corridor with a metal staircase leading to the first floor.
Beneath the staircase is the entrance to the cellar; next to it are glazed doors leading to the terrace and garden. The entrance hall also includes a separate WC. Large built-in wardrobes with generous storage capacity are designed here, along with a niche for hanging coats, incorporating a built-in bench and shoe storage.

From the corridor, passing a small display cabinet, one enters the kitchen connected to the dining area and living room, from where there is direct access to the terrace and garden. The doors between the corridor and the living room are replaced by the largest possible opening (within structural limits), in which a glazed display case is inserted for exhibiting small artworks.
The living room and dining area include a fireplace that functions as a spatial divider between the dining zone with a large bench featuring upholstered backrests and concealed storage, and the “TV zone” with a library and seating area.

The ground floor also contains a lower bedroom with a separate barrier-free bathroom with WC and a large walk-in shower. The tiling combines large-format elements with atypical smaller tiles.

On the upper floor, there is the main bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe, a second bathroom with a bathtub, shower, and WC, a study facing the street, and a large guest room.

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An important part of the house is the ground-floor outdoor terrace, which serves as an extension of the living space during the summer months. The terrace is designed at the same level as the living room floor, using concrete paving slabs laid on adjustable pedestals. 

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The project has a personal background. The original conceptual design was created during my architecture studies as a semester project titled The Czech House at the Faculty of Art and Architecture in Liberec, in the studio of Zdeněk Fránek. Based on this concept, the building permit documentation (DSP) was prepared by Studio MOA. Subsequently, at the client’s request, I took over the project again, further developed it, and completed it in accordance with the original concept. The garden design was prepared by Studio Flera.