design odyssey beyond 2010

[by Katerina Kyselica] A grand residential project is underway on the outskirts of Prague in the Czech Republic. In the pristine environment surrounding the stunning baroque-style château Konopiste, dwellings for connoisseurs of modern architecture will start to appear, as top Czech and Slovak architects interpret a unique vision of modern suburban living.

Slated as a ‘boutique development’, the project ‘Konopiste Resort’ (by Resort Living) offers a collection of contemporary homes with the ambition to re-define suburban living.  Eleven established Czech and Slovak architects designed a variety of dwellings to meet the needs and fulfill the desires of buyers who seek stylish modern living outside the city. While apartment buildings house small studios and spacious penthouses for those who seek a weekend getaway in a serene countryside, family homes and luxurious villas masterly inserted into the existing landscape provide precious privacy for family living.

Although each dwelling carries the signature style of its architect, one can notice a few elements that tie the dwellings into a cohesive collection. As Marcela Hollasova, the Director of Resort Living, explained it was her goal to create a conceptually strong yet harmonized collection of architecture.

Of course one recognizes a certain signature style [of each architect], and I wanted them to stand out. Nevertheless, we unified [the dwellings] through for instance materials used for their exterior. I also paid close attention to the allocation of individual lots to each architect to achieve a symbiotic relationship between the site and the particular architect’s style.

The 4,300 square foot area of the Villa Stempel is designed by Slovak architect Jan Stempel.  Stempel created a public space with an open kitchen and living area, and strictly separated the private spaces. The master bedroom is located on the first floor with an interior atrium serving as a divider from the other bedrooms. An interesting interior feature is the design of the ‘shelf walls’ – interior partitions with a built-in shelf system on each side. The design of the villa benefits from the landscape elevation. It sits on a concrete tube that functions as an underground garage and housing for all mechanical equipment. Designer husband-and-wife team Zdenek and Eva Eisler proposed for ‘their’ two Villas Eisler a pavilion type of dwelling. The spaces are organized on a square grid and communicate with each other through interior voids. The elevation of the existing landscape added to the curious interplay of overlapping cubes.

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HISTORY PROVES RISK WELL CONSIDERED

Resort Living’s courageous experiment to create a sophisticated modern residential area was entrusted to the hands of the Czech architect Marcela Vesela. Looking back in history, the boutique development found its audience in 1920s-1930s Czechoslovakia. The inspiration to experiment with the modern came from Switzerland.

In 1927 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe developed a plan to build 33 homes in Stuttgart designed by 17 different architects. The ‘Wiessenhof Colony’, as it became known, triggered a series of entrepreneurial experiments with modern living in Czechoslovakia. In 1927, a ‘Novy Domov Estate’ (‘New Living’) was erected in the city of Brno. In 1926, the entrepreneur Bata started implementing his vision to build modern housing for his employees in the city of Zlin – and ‘Zalesna-Podvesna Estate’ came to life. Prague found its modern living in the design of many villas and family homes. ‘Baba Estate’ was built in 1932 as a collection of modern homes designed by top architects, such as Pavel Janak, Josef Gocar, Ladislav Zak or Jaromir Krejcar.

“Functionalism was seen as the optimistic reflection of the new Czech state,” explains Jan Otakar Fischer in his article ‘White Walls in the Golden City’ for Harvard Design Magazine.

Both Vesela and Hollasova agree that it’s the timelessness of 1920s-1930s Czech architecture that appeals to them and many contemporaries in the Czech Republic. However, ‘Konopiste Estate’ should not feel like a copycat of past successes. Although one can find traces of pure functionalism and Bauhaus influence in the proposed designs (in Villa Franek, Villa Palascak or Kavanova), there is a sense of organic interpretation of the classical modernist design. The dwellings do not stand out as industrial machines for living dropped on the site. They blend with the surrounding nature. Although, one does stand out.

ICING ON A CAKE – CLUBHOUSE ‘VOLAVKA’

Circular, colorful, situated on the edge of the estate, Clubhouse Volavka (‘Heron’) exemplifies the curve as an essential element for harmonious spatial experience. Volavka was designed by well-known Czech-British architect Jan Kaplicky, founder of Future Systems based in London. It embodies Kaplicky’s unique approach to architecture and showcases his signature style of fluid spatial experience absent of right-angles.

The terrain’s irregularity and slope informed the design – the whole building is elevated and placed on steel posts carrying the structure on a steel grid. The glass facade facing west offers stunning views of the hillside. Visitors arrive to this special community place via a winding planked bridge. Visually intriguing is the club’s blue roof culminating in an ‘antenna’ – a chimney, which rotates in the wind. The chimney is also the focal point of the interiors. Funky, yet functional. Call it the ‘Beret’.

Besides the unique architectural exercise, we should look at the concept behind the ‘new’ suburbia. Or is it new? Is it just a well thought through marketing? It is an excellent marketing supported by a clear vision translated into coherent collection of architecture. The rather unusual cooperation of investor with architect from the early stages allows for a sustainable approach to design as well as the introduction of unique housing to the market. It does deserve acknowledgment.

However, being an urban geek myself, I can hardly imagine growing up in the isolation of a suburban community; regardless in what style it is designed. I admit that, just for a minute, I thought maybe a modern ‘pied-à-terre’ within reach of a castle and rolling hillside could do it – to regain energy with style. But then, when I do go hiking and biking, I vote for a cabin in the woods.

NOTE: All images are renderings, provided courtesy of Resort Living – investor of the Konopiste Resort project. The construction shall begin this summer, and the completion is scheduled within 3 years.

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Katerina Kyselica practices interior architecture, travels, writes, photographs and creates. Retired from Czech legal practice, she landed in the US, and later found her way to New York City. She prefers listening to her surroundings to clogging her ears with headphones. She sees good design as smart, sustainable, perceptive and thoroughly thought through.

Filed under: Architecture, Prague Tagged: | Architecture, Czech, Modern housing, modernism, Prague