Vivus Žižkov Apartment Building

On the site that was vacated in the 1980s by the first – and fortunately last – phase of the large-scale demolition of lower Žižkov, a closed city block returns after forty years of emptiness. The brick block measuring 60 m on each side redefines the streets Hartigova (previously Koněvova) and Roháčova, establishes two new streets – Budovcova and Kaplířova – and within it hides a white courtyard whose scale corresponds more to a garden than to an internal block.

Žižkov, especially its oldest western part, forms one of the largest contiguous areas of block development in Prague. The distinctly sloped terrain has given rise to cramped blocks measuring approximately 45 × 100 meters, whose value is confirmed by blanket monument protection. However, the immediate surroundings of the building underwent an unprecedented transformation at the end of the 20th century: the original houses were demolished, the freed area was partly built up with panel houses, and the remainder remained empty. Along with the houses, the streets also disappeared. The area today is characterized by the contrast of eclectic architecture and the utilitarian expression of panel houses, which have overshadowed the traditional scale of the district.

The plot, covering 3,733 m², is almost square, oriented along the streets Hartigova – Roháčova and sloping with a height difference of about five meters. For years, it was fenced off, featuring a small parking lot and overgrown with spontaneous vegetation. The value of the site lies in its location on the main Žižkov avenue and the opportunity to connect to both vanished streets; the challenge lies in the slope, the busy northern boundary, and the necessity to exist among two such different neighbors.

The concept emerged from the belief that the basic prerequisite for preserving the values of the heritage zone is the volumetric and spatial composition of the area. Therefore, the design adopted the traditional form of a housing block. It complements the missing part of the development along Hartigova Avenue and returns a defined street layout to the public space. Six above-ground floors with a set-back top floor restore the location's historical scale and correct the impression of towering panel houses. The facade appears calm and orderly. The simple facade with regularly spaced windows is complemented by balconies of various widths oriented toward the inner block. The northern wing along the main avenue, with different functional and spatial solutions, deviates from the unified facade design and offers commercial spaces at ground level.

The building is designed as a monolithic reinforced concrete slab-wall system with a skeleton in the garages, in a basic grid of 6 × 6 meters. It is founded on large-diameter piles up to 12 meters long embedded in slate bedrock and connected by a plate 400 mm thick; the basement consists of a white tub made of waterproof concrete. Three underground floors with a capacity of 135 parking spaces are resolved operationally and economically as a semi-level system connected by ramps. The perimeter reinforced concrete walls bear contact thermal insulation made of mineral wool with a ceramic strip cladding, giving the facade a lively structure of facing brick. Aluminum windows with triple glazing and balconies with thin steel railings complete the precise detail with which the building responds to the delicateness of the surrounding development.

Access to the building is provided by seven entrances, which are placed at different heights due to the slope – from the sides of Hartigova and Budovcova at the level of the first basement, from Roháčova and Kaplířova at the ground level. Each entrance is served by a three-armed staircase with an elevator, from whose landing 3 to 6 apartments on each floor are barrier-free accessible. The building offers 162 apartments ranging from 1+kk to 4+kk; larger units are concentrated at the corners and in the set-back sixth floor, where terraces are created on the outer and inner perimeter. Seven commercial units in the basement ground floor connect to the sidewalk of Hartigova Street and the planned public transport stop.

The inner block intentionally differs from the outer facades. The white plaster emphasizes the intimacy of the semi-public space and contributes to its brightness and airiness; the proportions of the courtyard, measuring 29 × 29 meters, are more favorable compared to the surrounding blocks due to the reduction by one floor. The design of the courtyard, the surroundings of the building, and the rooftop living area was entrusted to the landscape studio Terra Florida. An intensive rooftop garden with a substrate layer of up to 1.2 meters has been created on the ceiling slab of the garages: an ornament of paths made from wooden decking and concrete stepping stones functionally connects all entrances while also acting as an abstract artifact, passing through a growth of grasses, perennials, and bulbous plants, while shrub groups of red-twig dogwoods conceal views into the apartments, and the crowns of birch trees open above. Rainwater from the roofs is collected in a storage tank and used for irrigation of the garden; the roof above the sixth floor is planted with low-maintenance drought-resistant succulents. The dominant feature of the courtyard is an art installation by artist Jan Šerých. The streets are complemented by rows of trees, including hackberry and cherry.

The project progressed from a study in 2014 through the zoning decision to completion in 2026 – twelve years during which a team of collaborators from the studio, the general designer SIAL Liberec, and the investor worked on it. The result is not a solitary building, but rather a piece of the city: a block, street, and courtyard that have been missing in Žižkov for forty years.