捷克公寓蜕变记丨ARTIKUL Architects

Architect：ARTIKUL Architects

Location：Prague, Czechia; | ;

Project Year：2020

Category：Apartments

Letná is generally considered as an ideal location for living. The proximity of parks, civic amenities, and transport accessibility attract young families who want to live in the city center. The investors bought an apartment on Kamenická street in an attic extension. Even though it was built relatively recently during the 90s, it was not suitable for the current needs of the young couple. 

The biggest drawback of the apartment was the unsuitable layout with several diagonal walls and hardly usable but spacious hallway. Investors wanted to turn an unusable space with cold and dark tiles into a friendly, welcoming entrance to the apartment. Due to the diagonal walls, there were several hard-to-reach places. Although the apartment has 88 m2, it felt cramped. Therefore, the main idea was to open the layout and increase apartment functionality, enlarge the living space, and give the space new and fresh colors.

Architects removed the illogical corners and generally focused on opening the space and transforming the apartment to current living standards. They tore down the wall between the hallway and living room with kitchen. Once dark and isolated hallway with an excess of doors turned into a spacious addition to the main living area. Two hidden steel columns were discovered during the demolition works in the middle of the partition – those were incorporated into the design. 

A previously divided hall has enlarged the living space. Today the entrance part is separated from the rest of the apartment only by an atypical wardrobe. The original parquets were refurbished, and new parquets replaced cold tiles. Unusually, parquets are also used in the kitchen, thanks to which the space looks whole and cozy. The parquets were specially treated to withstand the operation of the kitchen.

The kitchen is designed to measure. The breakfast counter divides the space, and it combines a precise locksmith construction and gold tin blocks, which are repeated in other parts of the kitchen. The gold color is used in combination with bold navy blue. The kitchen is designed as a distinctive block that is part of the living area. Appliances are incorporated directly into atypical kitchen furniture. To help the lightness of the interior, architects decided not to use any tiles. Instead, they chose a waterproof coating instead of traditional ceramic tiles. 

An atypical pink modular sofa in the living room can be shaped into a square and function as a comfortable bed for guests. The room is ready for the installation of a data projector for luxury movie nights. The cladding cassettes of the Prague metro are entertaining decoration, and they follow warm interior colors. From the beginning, it was clear that plants would play a role in the apartment since the investor is a lover of houseplants. There must have been enough space for them in the interior. Therefore, the architects covered the atypical niche in the corner of the living room with various plants. The completely new and atypical furniture is complemented by high-quality older furniture from grandparents, which has great emotional value for investors.

says the architect Pavel Lejdar.

Another unusual element of the apartment is the door to the master bedroom. Instead of a diagonal wall, the architects designed a unique frameless door in the shape of the letter "L" for the entire height of the room. Thanks to this, there is no empty corner in the hallway. The bathrooms in the apartment are also newly designed. There is a spacious toilet with a urinal (which helps the harmonious coexistence of investors) and the entrance to an enclosed laundry room. The new bathroom is simple in design and shape – this makes it easy to maintain. The gold tin blocks on the bathroom cabinet of the double washbasin are repeated here. Cream tiles give the bathroom a warm impression, and the playfulness is supported by tiles with a creative painting imitating hand drawing.

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