The new buildings of the federal house and gazebo are located on the grassy square Pod Kaštany. The spot is adjacent to the main road passing through the village and the St. Wenceslas pilgrimage is traditionally held there. This pair of buildings borders the plaza and at the same time turns into it. Federal house with a row of high glass doors, gazebo with a covered deck. The layout scheme works even if only one of the buildings is built. A new house will always dominate the Pod Kaštany area.

The location for placement of the Federal House and the wooden gazebo was selected in the architectural concept, which we developed in 2013.

We propose a construction of both public and private buildings in more or less traditional urban form. Apartment buildings with workshops, mercantile, shared spaces on the ground floor. On higher floors, there are flats of varying sizes, for various groups of users. The houses have gardens in inner blocks, which can be approached either through the house or right from the street.
We propose an extension of the historical factory building “Linserka” with a generous universal hall. The hall and various levels of the extension can be used in numerous ways, as per the needs of the creative city quarter.
An overwhelming majority of Papírák is a residential zone. This solution enables us to free the public space from division caused by other transport classifications. Thus, we open the public space to people instead of making it subservient to transport classification. In this simple solution, there lies a primary way of finding a necessary universality and usability of shared public spaces!
We create the unique character of the quarter especially by keeping the scale of buildings rather small, and by traces of historical blocks.

The scale of Papírák is not determined by regulations and sizes of automobiles and their operation, the scale of Papírák is human, determined by the needs of a human – a pedestrian, a cyclist, a runner, a neighbour. We divide the blocks in a traditional way – a house / a wall, private / public – with clearly defined borders. We use traditional materials and develop the theme of water and trees in the streets.

Renovation of a flat on the 4th floor of a 20s – 30s apartment building in Prague, Dejvice.

The proposed solution maintains the original principle of separating two functionally different parts, that is the resting part and the day part. The facilities, meaning the bathroom, toilet and the storage space, are concentrated in the middle of the space. The motif of an illuminated foyer is newly reinforced by the lighting going both ways through the glass door into the study and into the opposite living room. Also, the visual interconnecting of these three spaces provides a significant residential value. By connecting the original bedroom and living room, a generous 50m space has been created – a living room with a kitchen, fireplace and a library. The western resting part is comprised of already mentioned study, which, when the time comes, can be easily converted into a children’s bedroom, the main bedroom and the bathroom with two entrances – from the hall and from the bedroom foyer. Aside from the toilet in the bathroom, there is a separate toilet in the foyer. The abolished pantries have been replaced by numerous built-in wardrobes, surrounding the core of the flat.

Overall locality solution

That the complex of the former sugar factory, given its position and size, can have an absolutely crucial impact on the future development of Šlapanice, is clear. While it is, at the moment, situated outside the center of the town’s social life, which is, obviously, located around the Masarykovo sq., Zámečnického sq. and the grammar school triangle, it, however, lies on the historical link between this triangle and the train station, next to the policlinic and the football fields. The ultimate argument is simply to acknowledge the sheer size of its area, which allows for a variety of uses, sure to influence the life of many a town. However, there are several “buts,” significantly affecting future development and potential power of the new town center. Ecological burdens, which complicate spatial arrangement and limit the use of new areas, and, to some extent, uncertainity about the investing power of the town, as well as an absence of a specific assignment.

Granary

Mainly defensive nature of granaries, protecting what’s inside against unwanted climatic effects as well as against strangers, creates, on purpose, a feeling of something inaccessible, closed inwardly into itself. With openings functioning primarily as a means of ventilation, a granary can be imagined as a windowless house. This design aims to offer a new understanding without a significant loss of the original substance, while preserving the image of the house. From closed to open, from technical to civic, from silent to speaking. In the rhythm of present tectonic of the facade, the house opens social spaces for a dialogue with the outside attention. Thus, the house draws energy into itself, it comes alive, it manifests actions, it is a symbol of the town’s cultural acitivity. The structure of the interior, thanks to respecting the triple tracting, remains largely preserved, corresponding to the use of the building. It is also the main means of expression of the interior, offering a direct contact with the original building and its values.

Mrs Ditrychová is a chairwoman of an owners association. With the support of other members of the commitee, she wished to enhance the quality of living for herself and her neighbours. We started off with a study with a whiff of development (roof superstructure, complex renovation, adding of an elevator, enlargement of loggias). After a clash with the reality of the owners association, several appeals, dozens of hours of meetings and presentations, we ended up with a subtle intervention, which, nevertheless, significantly increases both the utility and market value of all the flats in the building. Loggias of a hardly usable 1.1m depth have been enlarged to approx 2m with the use of a cantilever construction. Every flat now has one continuous loggia instead of two smaller ones. The individual owners themselves could opt for a lowering of windowsills, direct access to the garden, loggia floor material. With the exception of removal of windowsills in some of the flats, the original construction remains untouched. Steel weldment cantilevers are designed in such a way, so as to provide a static remediation of sensitive panel block connections. The cantilevers have been treated with an anti-fire coating, rest of the steel construction has been hot dip galvanized. The ceilings above the enlarged area are made of steel-reinforced concrete, the floors are larch or plastic wood, according to the wishes of the individual owners. The construction allows for additional installation of glass panes.