Reconstruction of a Functionalist Villa

A classic functionalist villa, which until recently served as a summer residence for the descendants of the original inhabitants, was built in the 1920s as a construction phase of a house whose foundations are at least 100 years old, and whose original agricultural function could be read in the preserved, albeit structurally damaged, vaults in the villa’s ground floor. The recently completed reconstruction thus marks the third construction phase of the house. The intention of this implementation phase was to preserve the genius loci of the functionalist interwar villa, while also executing necessary structural technical adjustments and technological modifications to the house's equipment to meet the requirements for modern living of a young family in the 21st century.

INTERWAR HISTORY OF THE HOUSE

The first owner of the house was František Bačkovský (1854-1909), a Czech bookseller, publisher, and writer. He was a recognized author during the period of national revival. He engaged in the public national debate regarding the authenticity of the Manuscripts, taking on the role of a vehement defender of the authenticity of the documents. Among other things, he published Babička by Božena Němcová in 1906. He was the founder and editor of literary magazines such as Literární obzor, České listy, Literární věstník... The second owner of the house was his son, Jindřich Bačkovský (1882-?), a bookseller and publisher in Prague. The third owner, from whom the current owners purchased the house through his second wife, was Jindřich Bačkovský (1912-2000), one of the significant Czech physicists. During the First Republic, the garden associated with the house hosted famous garden parties attended by Prague's intelligentsia and "high society".

ORIGINAL CONDITION PRIOR TO RECONSTRUCTION

The villa has a built-up area of 130 m². The land area is 2,662 m², and the villa stands in an extensive ornamental English garden with a pool, greenhouse, and a small pond. Utility networks, including electricity, water supply, sewage, and gas, are brought to the property line. The floor area of all residential spaces in a 6+1 layout is 200 m². It is a three-story building with a basement, a small garage, and three terraces. The villa is brick-built. The load-bearing structures of the villa were in good structural condition, except for the vaulted ceiling above part of the first floor.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

The exterior silhouette of the house, including the main functionalist principles of the facade, has been preserved. The windows were replaced with new ones, though in the original layout and original color scheme. Since insulation was installed which would visually reduce the windows by 10 cm on all sides, altering the proportions of the facade, these openings were enlarged by 10 cm after removing the original windows on all sides, and the windows were pushed out by 10 cm so that the original proportions of the facades, which are essential to functionalist architecture, would remain unchanged after insulation was completed. The lower structure of the villa, including the floors on the ground floor, was completely insulated against groundwater.

INTERIOR AND INTERNAL LAYOUT

The design of the layout changes is based on the original layout solution. On the second and third floors, the layout is essentially original, except for minor adjustments to the bathrooms. The first floor features two children's rooms, a large family bathroom, and a cleaning cupboard under the stairs. One of the pair of children's rooms has a large terrace on the garage roof. On the second floor (in the tower) is the parents' bedroom with its own bathroom, a walk-in closet, and accesses to two terraces on the roofs of the children's rooms. Significant interventions in the existing structures occurred only on the ground floor. Here, the previously described original agricultural part of the house, including the structurally damaged vaults, was removed. This resulted in the integration of all rooms on the ground floor into one large open living area, which is visually divided into a living room and a dining area with a kitchen by a fireplace. There is also an entrance to the hall, a technical room, a garage, and access to the basement on the ground floor.

GARDEN MODIFICATIONS

In the garden, several overgrown trees were cut down, and new ones were planted according to the original concept. A new living terrace was created in front of the living room, connecting with the entrance's paved access area. The original garden layout, including the greenhouse, sauna, and small pond, has been preserved.