Loft in Prague-Holešovice

Transforming the space of an old industrial hall in Holešovice into an apartment for a three-member family presented us from the beginning with a very interesting and appealing challenge. The rectangular hall is located in the courtyard of a residential building and, apart from its impressive small windows, allowed for lighting only from one side, which had a fundamental impact on the spatial arrangement of the apartment.
The steel structure of the inserted floor defines the layout of the main living area, which retains its original height. From the living area, which merges with the dining room and kitchen, all other rooms on the ground floor and the steel staircase leading to the upper floor are accessible. In creating the apartment, it was important for us to maintain a sense of a large airy space while also supporting the penetration of daylight into all rooms. Therefore, we used transparent and frosted glass as the main material for the dividing partitions. To ensure intimacy, the individual rooms have an opaque curtain that visually closes the room when drawn. Thus, the visual impression of the space can be changed by opening or closing the individual rooms. The contrast to the smooth glass surfaces is provided by the beam ceiling, which has been left in its original industrial form and, along with the exposed brick walls, evokes the old atmosphere of industrial Holešovice.
A specific atmosphere in the living area of the apartment can be created by lowering a large projection screen located under the beam ceiling. The unusual size of the home cinema resulted from the original height of the hall, which is retained in the living space.
This relatively unconventional way of living was made possible also thanks to the great openness of the investor and his courage to experiment.