Lesser Town Square, St. Nicholas Church, Sala Terrena, Waldstein Palace and Gardens, Prague Castle... The Genius Loci of Lesser Town pulses with every step we take. History breathes from every street, entrance, courtyard, and every unique layer.
The task of the architect is all the more beautiful, but also more challenging, to insert something new, permanent, and even fateful, while respecting the history.
We still remember the first time the client approached us. “Our house is like a Cinderella among the grand palaces of Lesser Town, waiting for its liberation.” This house, lost among the grand palaces, awaited a new beginning and the breath of new life. So, we named the project Cinderella.
The story of the VII. house allowed us to approach the entire project as a work of art. We place the object itself and its uniqueness at the forefront. We try to listen to its history and complement it with subtlety and details. We create contemporarily but respect the past. We emphasize the architecture of the house, return traditional natural materials to it in both traditional and metaphorical forms. We highlight unrepeatable historical construction elements. History breathes on us. Logs used in the construction of the house were brought to Prague via the Vltava River over 200 years ago! It’s not uncommon to find 16th-century constructions, where the carpenters’ marks on beams bear witness to centuries gone by.
The entire image is completed with modern elements and compositions so that the imagined magical thread, winding through all of Lesser Town, does not end at the gates of the house but continues smoothly through space and time. Occasionally, it sparkles and allows the current inhabitants to feel a connection with the rich history of old Prague.
The client wished to create luxury apartments in the existing gallery house, according to today’s high standards of living. The designs for new layouts were evaluated by both the client and advisors from the real estate agency. After many variations, different options were considered, ranging from a single-room apartment to one that occupied the entire floor. The final version settled on three apartments on a typical floor.
The inspiration for the overall concept of the house came from the house itself, its charm, and its history. We had to handle the existing structures carefully. Some of them were untouchable from a heritage perspective. We utilized them precisely to ensure that they would continue to give the house its unmistakable charm. In some respects, we had to reconsider our desire for revelation in the context of statics, acoustics, or fire safety solutions. We aimed for the newly built structures to blend with the house, while still making it clear which ones they were. We carefully considered which modern construction solutions could withstand the confrontation with a cultural monument.
In the newly built partitions, we installed modern doors with hidden frames that span the full height of the floor. To accommodate the local drop in ceiling height for the technology installations, we used it for the placement of a gypsum fabion that runs through all the apartments and adds a subtle detail, much like in the original apartments. We applied similar subtlety to the custom sandstone frames of the most important doors in the apartment, the artificial stone sink table, and other details. The lighting in the hallway or second bedroom is often enhanced by fillings made of custom “ice glass” created by artist Pavel Baxa.
The astral and possibly even alchemical atmosphere of the house, which can be felt from the official name of the project, Seventh House, can be encountered even when wandering the house’s staircase. The lighting on the staircase, in its shape, resembles spherical celestial bodies. Their orbits have been imprinted on custom-made covers for the fire hydrants. The wooden circular handrail of the staircase with integrated lighting resembles the light trail left by a meteor as it flashes by, or perhaps symbolizes the line of time, stretching from deep history to the present day. The cursed stucco on the staircase walls hints that today’s craftsmen still manage to create in the spirit of old masters. The atmosphere of bygone centuries is further enhanced by the installation of custom lighting made of patinated brass, or mailboxes made from the same material.
The Cinderella project symbolizes a new beginning and the breath of new life into the historical house on Lesser Town Square, which has been waiting for its liberation.
Team:
Client: WP 7
Architects: Studio Formafatal
Author: Jan Roučka, exteriors, interior standards, and common areas
Dagmar Štěpánová, model apartment design
Co-author Model apartment design: Martina Homolková, Jan Roučka [Formafatal]
Interior of the ground floor, 1st and 5th floor rental spaces: Martin Kalhous [Atelier SAD]
Vegetation and backyard water feature project: Atelier Partero
Design team Anna Linhartová, Michael Kohout
Technical supervision of the investor: Michal Váňa
Construction supplier: Slavíčkovci
Metal elements: Roman Cimický
Custom brass elements and lighting: Ateliér Originál Hořánek
Windows and doors: Nenadal
Woodworking elements: Truhlářství Votýpka
Building project: Atelier Poledne, SK projects & Buildings
Building-historical research: Michal Patrný, Markéta Musilová
Photographer: BoysPlayNice
Materials Used:
Cursed stucco: staircase walls
Ice glass: fillings for building openings
Artificial sandstone and solid oiled oak: staircase
Granite pavement: courtyard
Solid granite: water feature, bench (courtyard), staircase to the rear courtyard
Ceramic tiles and wall cladding: landing of the gallery and bathrooms
Brick pavement: cellar spaces
Solid, oiled oak parquet: chevron – apartment floors
Reinforced steel grilles: cellar compartments
Artificial stone: Technistone – door thresholds, sink table
Patinated brass: custom lighting, door handles, mailboxes, spout of the water feature
Facade painting: Keim
Agora radiators: Tubes
Faucets: Bongio
Artis sink: Villeroy & Boch
One toilet with bidet function: TECE
14sp wall light: Bocci
Altun wall light: Aromas del Campo
System 106 Bronze communication system: Gira
R3 electrical fittings: Berker
doors, door frames and hardware supplier: Bdoors
Isabella door handles: dnd
Lighting supplier: Uni Light
Stonemasons: Trimona
Custom glass fillings: Pavel Baxa
Tiles and sanitary supplier: Dorint
Heating elements and faucets supplier: Design Club
Glass printing for the elevator: VV SKLO
Elevator: ZEUS Výtahová technika
Electrical fittings supplier: Monobrand
