Family house in Nový Šaldorf

The Špalek Winery is located in Nový Šaldorf near Znojmo, amidst the ancient Blue Cellars and in close proximity to the excellent vineyards of Kraví hora. This place, where history, nature, and winemaking meet, has also been chosen as a home by Marek Špalek, the son of the founder, who takes care of business and marketing in the family company. Right behind their winery stands a newly built house, which had to deal not only with the given limits of this heritage zone but also with a specific requirement – to preserve the old apricot tree.

The history of Nový Šaldorf dates back to the Middle Ages – a turning point occurred in 1945 when the original German population had to leave their homes, including the famous Kuhberg vineyard, now Kraví hora, after six hundred years. Among the new settlers, primarily from Wallachia, a few brave individuals soon found themselves venturing into winemaking, but their fate was complicated by the communist regime. One of them was the father of František Špalek, the founder of the winery. Only after 1989 was it possible to realize their dreams and plans, such as cultivating vineyards in organic farming, producing natural wines fermented with wild yeasts, or building the first cellar with gravitational operation in the Znojmo region. Perhaps the most striking confirmation that their path is correct was receiving the title of Winery of the Year 2015.

Marek Špalek represents the third post-war generation of the family, and Šaldorf has truly become his home, a landscape to which he belongs. Therefore, he decided to build a house here – on a sloping plot with a view of the vineyards, additionally wishing for the construction not to endanger the old tree. The architectural solution was handled by Tomáš Havlíček, a member of the Flying Engineers studio, who has previously successfully realized the Krásná hora winery. The style of this winery places great emphasis on sensitive interaction with the local situation (the builder of Krásná hora referred to it as "neorustic"), aligning with the client's vision.

"The Blue Cellars are a heritage zone, so we had to respect the dimensional and height limitations. The external aspect of the building was also predetermined – the placement of windows, doors, and the gabled roof. We demolished the old press house and preserved an approximately hundred-year-old cellar. The client's brief? It was challenging in several respects, especially in how to fit twice the living space onto a small plot. We had to maximize all possible building limits, and the area was further reduced by our desire to keep the old apricot tree. This resulted in three 'cabins' down below, bedrooms, while the rest is open space over five levels and 80 m². Part of the brief was also that there would be no traditional living room or television, and all rooms, including the bathroom, must have a window. Essentially, these are residential stairs," says the architect with humor.
"In addition to these visions of appearance and function, we wanted the house to be designed from material with good thermal insulation properties – we did not want air conditioning or external insulation. The architect recommended the Ytong building system to us based on previous experiences, specifically the Lambda YQ thermal insulation block," adds the owner regarding the building solution.

"We also appreciated the malleability of this material – in the exterior, there are atypical window surrounds and also glass blocks in the façade that form a certain ornament, which Ytong allows very easily and without waste; a similar situation was found in several places in the interior," notes Tomáš Havlíček.

The overall concept also includes custom craftsmanship for the solid oak doors and fittings. Following the architect's design, minimalist and functionally thought-out furniture was created, combining oak wood and laminated panels. The term "neorustic" thus takes on a comprehensive meaning – it represents a combination of traditional materials, craftsmanship, a free citation of a country house, and at the same time modern living with a sense of functionality and design. "In a way, traditions are connected here in a broader sense – the only thing that remained from the original German population when my ancestors moved in are the old clocks. They are the only historical solitaire in our house, and I am glad they found their dignified place here," adds Marek Špalek.


Project: 2016
Realization: 2018
Author: Tomáš Havlíček
Collaboration: Dagmar and Marek Dostál, Roman Strnad
Supplier: Construction Řepka, Carpentry Náprava