RK 14

Course of collaboration: The client contacted us from his then base abroad with the intention of building a home in Prague. We personally met three times during the design and construction process. The first time in the concerned apartment, then to confirm the selection of specific materials. The rest took place with the help of video conferences and email communication. Nevertheless, from February to June, we not only managed to design the apartment but also arrange a tender for suppliers and carry out a complete reconstruction so that the clients could move in during the summer, which ultimately satisfied all parties involved. The entire process was significantly influenced by enlightened investors who had an unwavering interest in fully realizing the proposed idea, which is not a given in our environment. At first glance, the formal layout fascinated them, and they were able to perceive its sophistication. The oval shape, as well as the space around it, includes other places and nooks with defined functions, views, and shapes.

Assignment: Housing for a young family of four, sufficient storage space, separate kitchen, large library, small home office, 2 x WC, maintenance of apartment flow.

Concept / spatial arrangement: Given the limited space and possibilities of a panel apartment, the central position of the core was utilized for easy connection of necessary installations (2 x WC, additional bathroom fittings, kitchen, and washing machine). A spacious dressing room is designed in close proximity to the bathrooms. The entire background is thus wrapped in an oval shape, inserted into the center of the layout. We are either inside or outside, perceiving the convexity or concavity of curves, which also adds a pleasant softness to the living rooms. Circular motifs then run through the entire interior in small details. An important element is the views within the layout, both transverse, leading through the background, and longitudinal, which offers the possibility to perceive both ends of the apartment and the movement of residents and daylight throughout the interior. This, thanks to the arrangement, reaches places that previously had no access, for example, to the corridor that connects the living space to the children's room. The clients greatly appreciated obtaining this connection, along with the placement of the washing machine and the built-in laundry basket (accessible from both the bathroom and the corridor), in the context of the entire operation. Children, laundry, proximity to the kitchen. The kitchen is equally close to the entrance, which all participants perceive as extremely practical. Individual places are thus clearly defined and simultaneously seamlessly connected, which gives the apartment airiness in both living and service areas and flow, which was an integral part of the assignment. It is logically one of the core ideas of the project, and it is a joy to see how it all works. The connection of function and concept is indeed a natural goal of our work.

Furnishings and materials: New oak parquet laid in a herringbone pattern, PUR screeds in bathrooms, built-in white lacquered furniture combined with pine plywood, black accents in the form of door hardware, Corian sinks, and kitchen countertops, white wooden windows, refurbished furniture and lighting combined with new pieces, arched segments made of drywall.

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> review by Adam Gebrian in Hospodářské noviny