The facade of the house in Orlí street was complemented by a contemporary house sign

Brno - On April 19th, a house at the corner of Orlí and Josefská streets unveiled a house sign, created by sculptor Petra Vlachynská. The unveiling of the sculpture was accompanied by a cultural and gastronomic program set to the musical backdrop of the band Minach. The ceremonial "Ant Trail" was elegantly executed by the attending duo Ladislav Špaček and Petr Studenovský. The author of the project for the reconstruction of the Art Nouveau house is the famous Brno studio Maura.

HOW TO REPLACE WINDOWS
In 2008, the owner of the house on Orlí Street asked us to prepare a project for window replacement. The windows on the upper floors were rotten, and their repair was no longer possible. Surprisingly, the word plastic was never mentioned, so we proposed replicas of the original windows improved with double glazing and tilt-and-turn wings for ventilation. After the successful window replacement, we agreed on the reconstruction of the entire façade.
The building is listed in the Central Register of immovable cultural monuments in accordance with Act No. 20/87 Coll. under the registration number ÚSKP 48129/7-7443 and is also located in the area of the Urban Heritage Reservation of Brno - city. The Art Nouveau house, built between 1901-02 according to the design of Max Matzenauer, has been a cultural monument since May 3, 1958, and was inscribed in the state register in 1988. Given that a reconstruction took place in the 1980s and most of the original plastering was replaced with new ones, and some stucco decoration was not fully restored, we proposed new color shades for the façade and restoration of the original metal elements. The façade was completed at the end of 2009. However, above the entrances from Orlí Street and Josefská Street, there remained a space suitable for a house sign. The delicately decorated empty area invited further embellishment.
It is hard to find an investor who, apart from the utilitarian value of their home, would also agree to the added value - art. But sometimes such an investor is found, and we owe them our gratitude. Thanks to the ingenuity of the sculptor, the house sign has grown into a striking artistic element, which can be perceived by the older generation as a return of the artwork to the façade, while the younger generations appreciate it as contemporary street art.

In history, house signs were used for better orientation in the city, indicating a craft or art that the house owner practiced. Citizens expressed their individuality and mentality in this way. The aesthetic aspect receded into the background after numbering was introduced. If we decide to return to the tradition of house signs today, it is necessary to reconsider their meaning and function. A house sign is an artifact communicating with both architecture and public space, and its message is intended for broad strata of society. It should therefore be laconic and easily understandable.
The façade of the house on Orlí and Josefská streets is divided in a neo-Renaissance spirit and enriched with geometric Art Nouveau ornamentation. Ants, fragile insects, emphasize the natural decor, the garden tone of the façade. Their structure, jointed bodies, and delicate limbs are artistically related to the geometric Art Nouveau.
Ants belong to the family of social insects. The parallel with human buzzing and striving is well known. Here, moreover, it unfolds on a busy street in the city center: ants emerge from two entrances to the house and meet at the corner. The touch of humor is in the change of their scale and positioning above people's heads. Ants communicate actively using their olfactory sensors located at the ends of their antennae, which they touch. They are, therefore, a suitable symbol for Mr. Jan Horský, the owner of the house and co-owner of the company Freecom.