The functionalist villa from the 1930s has been renovated. See it not only from a bird’s eye view
“It’s a villa that my parents bought almost forty years ago, and I’ve basically lived in it quite a bit,” recalls architect Červenka, whose villa was very mature both in childhood and later, when he embarked on his career. .
Summer residence
The villa was designed by architect Ervín Rosenberg and was built in 1936. The builder of the house was Jan Matoušek, who is, among other things, the author of Kaulich’s house on Charles Square in Prague.
Rosenberg designed the villa for the family of a Jewish financier and was to serve as a summer residence.
“It simply came to our notice then. The family lived in Prague, but had the opportunity to stay in the fresh air on the weekends, “said the architect.
Exceptional space
The villa stands out with a large staircase corridor and an interconnected space, which is designed in the style of the Loos raumplan, where the rooms intersect differently between the floors, so the building does not consist of individual floors.
The house was built in 1936.
Photo: Archive of the owners of the villa
“Everything is interconnected according to the function of the rooms. When one walks through the house, one perceives that there is a ceiling or other window of various heights above it, ”adds the architect. The windows are arranged according to the functions of a specific room. Therefore, they are axially symmetrical in one facade and not in the other.
The reinforced concrete skeleton is also interesting, which includes columns in the corner. The walls between them were then bricked up afterwards. Thanks to this construction procedure, the house can be multi-level.
Covered frescoes
The original owner’s family invited Jewish artists Bernard Reder and Endre Nemes, who made two frescoes in the house. “One is above the original tiled stove, the other is on the wall. It is probably a family scene, because they had two daughters and there are two women on the fresco, “says Červenka.
Mr. Červenka’s family was even visited by staff from the National Gallery to find out if the family knew about them. They were originally painted and have only been uncovered since the reconstruction.
Improve, but keep
The aim of the reconstruction was mainly to preserve the original atmosphere of the villa and to insulate it so that the existing facade is not disturbed. The railing on the terrace, which was originally full, was also transformed under sheet metal under socialism, and the architect returned it to its original state.
“At the back under the terrace under socialism, a coal mine and a coal warehouse were created, which was behind a wooden wall, so I opened it and it works as a terrace for sitting,” adds Červenka.
There are two rare frescoes in the villa.
Photo: News
“It’s funny that we haven’t changed the layout at all, and that’s nice. Whoever comes here is fascinated, “said the architect proudly.
At the same time, the living room has preserved the floor, wood paneling, tiled stove and built-in furniture, which remained in the preparation room for food.
The only problem was the architect with the windows. “Unfortunately, the original swinging steel windows with bronze joints no longer met current standards in terms of construction and technology, and in addition, they dewed, so we had to replace them. It was a big problem to get swinging windows at all, “said the architect.
The reconstruction lasted one and a half years and cost several million crowns. The family cannot and does not want to quantify the total value of the house. According to Červenka, the house will not be for sale.