Apartment Holešovice II

The investor decided to purchase a period apartment in the Letná-Holešovice area, entrusting its subsequent reconstruction to 0.5 Studio. The client consulted with the architects during the selection of the property. The apartment itself is located in a residential building from the 1930s and is part of a block of apartment buildings in a quiet part of Holešovice. The client's requirement was to create a living space with a kitchen, a bedroom, and a studio that would later serve as a children's room. An important role in the design was played by the continuity with the atmosphere of the place. The main demand of the investor was to adapt the space to the objects they would move into the apartment. The initial input from 0.5 Studio was a typological reassessment of the individual spaces and their interconnections, particularly relocating the living room and kitchen to south-facing areas and simplifying the layouts, which involved removing several partitions and shifting doors.
The atmosphere of the apartment is rather "utilitarian," but not in the vacuous sense of minimalism. "Our goal was to restore older elements of the apartment and create a neutral environment that would offer itself as a space for habitation." Service areas - hallways, toilet, bathroom, and kitchen - were approached differently. The connecting element between the individual rooms became natural daylight, which is cleverly guided into all parts of the apartment. The reconstruction created a backdrop for the objects placed within it. The atmosphere of the apartment is calm, muted by gray and white colors. The floors of the individual rooms are made of original spruce planks, which have been sanded and waxed with white wax. The acknowledgment of dark joints and irregularities in the floor effortlessly creates an atmosphere of temporality. The intricate service areas are visually unified with geometric cladding in shades of gray, white, and blue.
The entrance space is softly illuminated by daylight through an opal Makrolon wall. The wall deliberately contrasts with the original profiled doors. In its design, Makrolon was chosen as the material not only for its aesthetic properties but also due to the installation of a large area and handling of material in the building. The living space, oriented south into the courtyard, consists of two parts: the kitchen and the living area with a dining room. The color scheme of the kitchen is coordinated with the gray color of the flooring. Through the kitchen, there is access to a small operational balcony. The living space itself is formulated as a white background for various colorful objects and activities. The connecting element is the shelves that unify the space. Originally, a stove served for heating, which has been left in the living area. The studio has the same atmosphere as the living space. Currently, it includes not only a workspace but also a "local jungle with flowers and an aquarium." The bedroom was created from the space of the former kitchen and a small maid's room. It features a large built-in wardrobe and sliding doors in white. The bathroom was enlarged, and natural daylight streams in through the original window. The boiler and washing machine are integrated into a custom-built cabinet that follows the white concept interwoven throughout the interior.
Thanks to the active approach and enlightenment of the investor in shaping the entire housing concept, it has been possible to create a space in which the original atmosphere is preserved through the sensitive work of the architects. Against the backdrop of the space, formulated by the architects, various objects with different stories, ages, and aesthetic qualities, which the investor has acquired or brought into the apartment, stand out and breathe easily.