Complete lighting solution for a unique villa on Barrandov Rock

Prague – Like a lighthouse looking out to all corners of the world, a residential villa stands above Prague on the Barrandov cliffs, which is unmissable not only due to its location but also its functionalist appearance. Although the building was created in 2010, looking at it might very well transport you back to the 1930s when Barrandov enjoyed the reputation of the "little Hollywood of the East." The project was developed by architect Jiří Košťál and his colleagues from the Studio AM, s.r.o. studio, with complete lighting solutions provided by Zumtobel Group.

The villa, covering an area of 1000 m², comprises one ground floor and three above-ground floors. "The undoubtedly strongest part of the project is its location, which predetermined the architectural concept of the intention," noted the project's architect Jiří Košťál. The unique location caused an "inverted layout," where the residential floor with a terrace around it and a panoramic view is on the third floor, while the bedroom floor is one level below.

Residential villa in Barrandov: daylight permeates the interior through wide windows just as artificial light at night connects the interior with the exterior. © Zumtobel Group, all rights reserved

The villa's unique location also influenced the lighting design. "We primarily focused on subtly highlighting the architecture after sunset and also paid attention to the placement of the fixtures from an exterior viewpoint," stated Jan Vacek, director of ZG Lighting Czech Republic. The lighting supplied by Zumtobel Group illuminates both the interior and exterior, including the terrace, staircase, entrances, and the space in front of the garage. "In consultation with the architect, fixtures with homogeneous emission characteristics were used along with special optics for communal spaces and spotlight fixtures to highlight features," added Jan Vacek. The special optics excel in their anti-glare properties, where direct looking into the fixture does not cause glare even when set to a high intensity of over 500 lux.

The entire lighting system is connected to the DALI protocol for simple and intelligent control of the lighting management. The building is equipped with touch panels featuring predefined scenarios for individual situations requiring different types of lighting, such as watching television, concentrated work, or entertaining friends.