People in Pilsen have seen another interior by the world-renowned A. Loos for the first time

Plzeň - The people of Plzeň today visited the reconstructed former apartment of Vilém Kraus for the first time, whose highly valued interior was designed by the world-renowned architect Adolf Loos. Tours of the interior at Bendova 10, along with the recently renovated apartment at Klatovská 12, were hopelessly booked. Magda Soukupová from the city company Plzeň - Turismus told ČTK.
    The apartment on Bendova Street 10, dating from 1930 to 1931, which will also be used for hosting intimate social events, will become part of the tour route of four Loos interiors that the city is preparing for next year, when it will become a European Capital of Culture.
    Loos carried out the reconstruction of the Brummel House at Husova 58 and 13 other apartment interiors in the city. Although not all have survived, experts consider it an extremely valuable collection in the context of 20th-century European architecture. The apartment at Bendova 10 has an area of about 130 m², with the living room comprising roughly half of that. "The family spent the most time there and invited guests," she said.
    According to Mayor Martin Baxa, Loos was an architectural genius and the apartment opened today is "one of the true treasures." The cost of the renovation amounted to 7.2 million crowns, with 800,000 CZK going towards the improvement of common areas. "There are many noble and expensive materials here, especially marble cladding and wood, such as mahogany, and large opposing mirrored walls," Soukupová stated. Only the comfortably designed built-in furniture has survived. According to heritage expert Karel Zoch, it is a typical example of Loos's handwriting, which places maximum emphasis on a thoughtful interior layout and "the rejection of artificial ornamentation and decorativism."
    During the repairs, according to him, elements were found that do not appear in other Loos realizations. For example, distinctly green windows and also fragments of historical wallpapers, according to which it was possible to reconstruct the interior. A big surprise was the clever hiding of a safe in the wooden paneling, which heritage experts could not find for several years.
    The owner of the apartment managed to escape from the Nazis to England at the last moment in 1939, but his wife and children perished. The house was confiscated by the Germans and returned to Kraus after the war, but later the communists took it from him again. The city acquired it from the state in 1994.
    There will be four sites on the tour route in Plzeň. In addition to Bendova 10, there is also the Klatovská 12 building, renovated for 4.8 million CZK, where the dining room and salon have been preserved. Moreover, the Brummel House with original furniture, which the city has agreed to open with the owner. "It will be much more interesting than Bendova 10. It will be ready in a month, but will only open from the new season," Soukupová said. In the building at Klatovská 110, which the region will begin to renovate, the entrance hall and some room will be open next year. All interiors will be accessible for reservations at least two days a week starting in 2015. "In the coming years, we want to add more spaces," said Soukupová. The plan includes the former military administration building at Klatovská 19, the use of which the city is currently negotiating with the army. The renovation could cost up to 100 million CZK.