In 2022, the villa became one of the Buildings of the Year and received honorable mention in the Grand Prix Architects competition. The history of the villa dates back to 1933, when it was built by Ing. Jan Hublík. There is a theory that the author of its design was the prominent architect and urban planner Bohuslav Fuchs.

During the nineties, however, the building underwent a significant transformation, which completely alienated the house from its functionalist identity. And that's what the new owners decided to change, who bought the villa with the determination to return it to its original atmosphere.

Architects from StudioPAB undertook the sensitive reconstruction. During the design, the architect Jan Pospíšil and his collaborators were guided by the plans of the original villa. Due to the requirement to increase the capacity of the house for the needs of a family of eight, the architects, after much deliberation, decided not only to add an extension, but also to build on it. Today, the villa has a total of four floors.

The new top floor fully respects the basic geometric principle of the entire building, but with the glass strip it deliberately admits that it is a contemporary effort. However, the path to the final form of the house was not easy. All the horizontal structures were in very poor technical condition, due to which practically the entire building was dismantled and then reassembled.

When the owner is a collector

The owners entrusted the design of the interior to designer Ing. Jana Trundová from the Olomouc studio outside the collective. "At the initial meeting, we talked with the investor about how the house should look. He introduced me to his collection of art and furnishings from the 20s to 30s, which we selected. He also introduced me to their living space at the time, so that I could see what style the family lived in, what they wished to keep in their new home and what, on the contrary, to change," recalls the designer.

The investor's collection naturally had an influence on the interior design: the individual collectibles had to be appropriately integrated into the villa.

During the design, Jana Trundová partly followed the original plans of the villa and subsequently the documentation from StudioPAB, which gave her author's freedom in the interior design.

"I approached the interior design with great respect for functionalism. From the beginning, I had a concrete idea about the space and furnishing elements, and I tried to create the interior project in my own way. I put particular emphasis on detail and atypical author's production," describes the author of the interior of the award-winning villa.

The designer was not afraid to use rich colors or expressive stone structures, of which there are a total of eight types in the villa. The motif of the bend of a functionalist tube runs through the entire house, for adults in chrome finish, for children in different color shades.

Separate entrances

The members of the household use the entrance from the west side on the lowest floor, which is partially sunk below ground level. The entrance area with the dressing room opens into the hall, which not only has a staircase, but also an elevator connecting all floors of the house. In the middle of the hall, on the cast terrazzo floor, there is a motif designed by the Olomouc graphic studio Rency, which created a visual identity for the villa. The designer also repeated the same graphic element, for example, on grilles for air conditioning or the fireplace. AT

At the foot of the stairs is a separate toilet and bathroom, which are designed in black and white. "In the bathroom on the ground floor, I used atypical 3D shaped tiles that form the sink, the transition to the shower and the niche in the wall," describes the designer.

Next to the bathroom, a reading corner is integrated into the hall. To the right of the entrance area, the hall transitions into a kitchen, from which there is access to the gym and the outdoor terrace. Part of this floor is also a library with a music room serving as a guest room.

One floor above was the main living space, used not only for the whole family meeting, but also for receiving visitors. There is an entrance for guests from the opposite east side, after going up the outdoor staircase. The floor plan of the entrance hall and hall is almost identical to that of the hall on the lower floor. Large double doors opposite the staircase open to the living room with fireplace, connected to the dining room and kitchen with pantry.

Bold colors and matching details

The upper floors then serve as private retreats for the members of the household. The second above-ground floor is dedicated exclusively to children, there are a total of four distinctly colorful children's rooms. The two boys' rooms have a deep green bathroom accessible from the hall, while the girls' rooms have access to a separate red bathroom with a door to the balcony.

"The owner wanted this bathroom to be really red. A unique terrazzo was created especially for this space, which contains glass particles instead of crushed stone to maintain the appropriate shade and harmonize with the other elements of the bathroom," explains the designer. Both children's bathrooms feature custom-made sinks cast from matching terrazza.

The top floor, which belongs to the married couple, is accessed via a small mezzanine. The owner had a red beast statue from his private collection placed in this space. From the spacious bedroom, thanks to the large glazed surfaces, a view of the wide surroundings opens up, while the overall airiness of the room is also supported by the high ceiling.

A striking element here is the walnut wall paneling, in which a door from the company Dorsis in the same decor is incorporated. Their presence is revealed only by the subtle handles of the YES! in black design. "I chose these handles on purpose, as their elegant line follows the atypical ceiling-mounted sink faucet that I used in the bathroom belonging to the owners' bedroom," says Jana Trundová, who used Magnetic hardware with YES handles on the top floor! from the Czech manufacturer M&T.

"The Magnetic system works purely on the principle of magnets built into the door leaf and their counterpart in the door frame. When the two parts come close to each other, the door closes smoothly and is held firmly in the frame only by the magnetic force, without any latch being pushed out. That's why you don't need a handle to open the door, but a handle is enough," Roman Ulich, M&T's chief designer, describes the working principle of the Magnetic system. The designer of the interior chose handles in the version with integrated toilet/bathroom locking.

Space for relaxation

However, it does not end with four floors. Adjacent to the villa on the west side is a new extension, which is connected to the house by a glass passage. In addition to the garage, this extension also houses a relaxation area including a wellness area with a swimming pool and a sauna. In the pool area, there is a custom-made fogging system for hanging flowers and anemones. And work on the villa continues even now, when the cellar is being transformed into a private wine cellar.

"I am very appreciative of the trust the investors have given me. This project was a great challenge and experience for me. It is an example of the old-fashioned approach, where everything is filed, made to measure, and all this down to the last detail and from local manufacturers. I am very happy about that," concludes Jana Trundová, evaluating the work on the project.