The Morava recreational facility in Tatranská Lomnica, an iconic functionalist building by Bohuslav Fuchs built between 1931 and 1933, has undergone a sensitive reconstruction designed by the Architekti Šebo Lichý architekti (ASL) studio, which collaborated with the GRAU studio on the interior design project. The project restores the cultural, historical and architectural value of the building while adapting it to the contemporary demands of 21st- century hotel operation.
The aim was to restore not only the physical appearance of the building but also its original cultural and social significance as one of the notable symbols of modern recreation in the Tatras. The design respects the building's original architectural substance, tectonics and silhouette within its high-mountain forest-park setting. The reconstruction removes the unsystematic and often insensitive interventions that had gradually accumulated on the facades and in the interiors over recent decades – their reduction has once again made the original architectural composition, proportions and characteristic features legible. At the same time, all new interventions and updates to the layout program are placed within the original building volume, without expanding it. The restored appearance returns to the building its original elegance, colour scheme and material culture, while contemporary technical solutions remain a natural part of its new operation. The new interventions are therefore not a self-serving interpretation of the historic architecture, but an attempt to make the building's original idea present again and adapt it to the current needs of visitors.
The reconstruction builds on Fuchs's original concept of interwar functionalism, characterised by rationality, purity of form and an emphasis on a healthy and hygienic environment, linked to a culture of physical health, sport and an active lifestyle. Since its origin, the architecture of the Morava facility has reflected a new way of spending leisure time – connected with sport, movement and being in nature – and it is precisely these principles that became the starting point for the present renovation. Fuchs's composition also worked with the contrast between the dramatic Tatra landscape and the new functionalist architecture, which was consciously distinct from the traditional, romantic buildings of the Tatras. The reference to "hygienic" architecture is reflected above all in the transformation of the basement spaces. The original, non-functional kitchen, storage rooms and boiler room have been replaced by a year-round sauna and spa oriented towards the south terrace, together with a winter ski room and a summer storage and rental space for bicycles. A new parallel entrance from the northern, mountain side ensures their independent connection to the hotel's operations. The new functions thus naturally develop the building's original idea as a place of active rest, regeneration and a healthy lifestyle, and extend the possibilities for recreation beyond the main winter and summer seasons. The hotel's social section also underwent a major renovation – the entrance, social, dining, bar and terrace spaces of the east wing. The reconstruction restored their original geometry, proportions and colour scheme, including the characteristic glazing solution and the adjoining outdoor terraces. The intervention also included the reorganisation of the kitchen facilities and the supply routes for the dining room and bar. As a result, the spaces are once again legible as a continuous part of the original architectural concept, which worked with the connection between interior and exterior and with people's natural contact with the mountain environment.
The rooftop terrace has become a new, or rather once again accessible, place. The preserved architecture of the rooftop pavilion, together with the reconstructed iconic red MORAVA sign, form a distinctive element of the roof silhouette while also recalling the building's historical identity. Today, the rooftop terrace once again functions as a place with an exceptional view of the surrounding Tatras, and at the same time as a space in which the building's historical layer naturally meets its contemporary use; the flat roof and roof terraces also together form what is known as the building's "fifth facade". The lower, terraced, three-storey mass of the social and dining section makes use of the structural advantages of the reinforced-concrete skeleton, which allows for large, undivided spaces. Continuous window strips, fully glazed walls and smooth, rounded columns are among the characteristic elements of this part of the building. It is connected to the accommodation wing by a link; together, the two masses form a T-shaped floor-plan composition. The western part of Fuchs's composition consists of the five-storey mass of the accommodation wing, designed as a masonry structure with a three-bay layout. The load-bearing walls of the room wing, oriented diagonally to the exposed south facade, create a distinctive sawtooth profile, whose verticals, together with the horizontal lines of the partially projecting loggias, determine the facade's characteristic grid.
The first interior adjustments were carried out as early as 1957–1964, under the direction of Fuchs's son, Kamil. The most significant modernisation followed in 1977–1979, when bathroom cores were inserted into the accommodation wing – despite the scale of the intervention, they were incorporated into the original floor-plan scheme without any fundamental disruption to the architectural substance. The period-appropriate shapes and colours used in the interiors worked with orange, deep blue and textile design as a reference to the era in which the building was created, and the present design, on whose interior HOTEL MORAVA.docx project the GRAU studio also collaborated, builds on this principle with a new design solution.
The guest rooms have also taken on a contemporary character. The hotel standard has been updated through the insertion of glass partitions between the bathroom core and the bedroom; their transparency brings in a greater degree of natural light and visually connects the individual parts of the interior – the south-facing loggia, the bedroom and the bathroom – into a single spatial whole. At the same time, they support the room's connection to the loggia terrace and the surrounding landscape, so that the interior does not function as an enclosed space but as part of the overall experience of a stay in Tatranská Lomnica. The material reconstruction, meanwhile, preserves the specific interface between the interior and exterior of the hotel room – the sun-facing loggias remain one of the defining elements of the Morava building's architecture, as light and moving shadow shape the plastic image of the facade in relation to the mountain scenery. The reconstruction of the Morava facility is, above all, an effort towards continuity. Rather than a literal return to 1933, it restores the essential principles of Fuchs's architecture and reinterprets them through contemporary technologies, materials and operational requirements. Alongside the remediation of the historic substance, the Architekti Šebo Lichý studio has also brought about a reconfiguration of the layout and an update to the building's three basic operational layers – accommodation, social, and the new sport-and-relaxation section.
The result is a building that retains its historical identity while gaining new life and the capacity to respond to the needs of today's guests. After more than ninety years, Morava thus continues in its original function as a contemporary hotel – remaining a distinctive place of recreation, sport and rest in the Tatras, this time, however, in a form that combines respect for the past with a natural outlook towards the future.
Team:
Client: Jednotný majetkový fond zväzov odborových organizácií v Slovenskej republike
Authors of reconstruction: Tomáš Šebo, Igor Lichý, Imrich Vaško, Branislav Groch, Mária Rakúsová, Nora Vranová
Collaboration: Peter Steiniger – DESIGNERS, s.r.o., Matúš Godiš – Architekti Šebo Lichý
Authors of interior: ARCHITEKTI ŠEBO LICHÝ / GRAU – Tomáš Šebo, Igor Lichý, Imrich Vaško, Branislav Groch, Mária Rakúsová, Andrej Olah, Filip Marčák, Matej Kurajda, Nora Vranová
Photo credit: © Matej Hakár
