Castling in the Vinohrady Apartment
The castling in chess consists of a clever exchange of the rook and the king. The goal is to gain a better position for both pieces. Similarly, we approached the new organization of rooms in the apartment in Vinohrady, in a beautiful location near Jiřího z Poděbrad Square.
When we first entered this apartment before the renovation, we sensed that it would be great. The original generous Vinohrady apartment was a typical victim of the communist era, it was reduced in size and enriched with various "ingenious" added features. What remained, however, are the original elegant panel doors and wonderfully high ceilings. Furthermore, our sense of a promising development was supported by the impression of the very sympathetic clients.
Fortunately, our expectations were met without reservation, although the implementation faced several obstacles, such as multiple lockdowns and complicated negotiations with heritage protection. The recessed windows, along with the panelled sills, also experienced a rebirth, into which we newly concealed the heating elements.
The layout and arrangement of the apartment underwent a rather radical transformation. One of the interventions of the communist era was the small melamine kitchen crammed at the front of the hallway. Our goal, as well as the clients’, was to create a new, generous kitchen that would be part of the living space. The apartment was also enriched with a completely new bathroom, sized more in line with 21st-century standards. The original floor plans of 19th-century apartments did not account for larger bathrooms (then spas:).
Structurally, all non-load-bearing partitions were removed so that we would have a free field for the aforementioned castling. The newly created living room with kitchen is then separated from the study by a functional two-sided wardrobe wall, which has a niche for the TV or possibly a painting on the living room side, and a library on the study side. Accessible storage spaces from both sides are a given.
In terms of materials, we remained modest; the whole is white, with only the openings and niches dressed in wooden decor. The connection to times long past is ensured by colorful hexagonal tiles behind the kitchen counter and in the bathroom, which loosely correspond to the colorful patterned cement tiles that often appear (not only) in Vinohrady tenements. The windows facing the courtyard are often etched with ornamental patterns. One of them is replicated in the wardrobe niche, which is located in the former door opening, which, due to the castling, lost its function.
When we first entered this apartment before the renovation, we sensed that it would be great. The original generous Vinohrady apartment was a typical victim of the communist era, it was reduced in size and enriched with various "ingenious" added features. What remained, however, are the original elegant panel doors and wonderfully high ceilings. Furthermore, our sense of a promising development was supported by the impression of the very sympathetic clients.
Fortunately, our expectations were met without reservation, although the implementation faced several obstacles, such as multiple lockdowns and complicated negotiations with heritage protection. The recessed windows, along with the panelled sills, also experienced a rebirth, into which we newly concealed the heating elements.
The layout and arrangement of the apartment underwent a rather radical transformation. One of the interventions of the communist era was the small melamine kitchen crammed at the front of the hallway. Our goal, as well as the clients’, was to create a new, generous kitchen that would be part of the living space. The apartment was also enriched with a completely new bathroom, sized more in line with 21st-century standards. The original floor plans of 19th-century apartments did not account for larger bathrooms (then spas:).
Structurally, all non-load-bearing partitions were removed so that we would have a free field for the aforementioned castling. The newly created living room with kitchen is then separated from the study by a functional two-sided wardrobe wall, which has a niche for the TV or possibly a painting on the living room side, and a library on the study side. Accessible storage spaces from both sides are a given.
In terms of materials, we remained modest; the whole is white, with only the openings and niches dressed in wooden decor. The connection to times long past is ensured by colorful hexagonal tiles behind the kitchen counter and in the bathroom, which loosely correspond to the colorful patterned cement tiles that often appear (not only) in Vinohrady tenements. The windows facing the courtyard are often etched with ornamental patterns. One of them is replicated in the wardrobe niche, which is located in the former door opening, which, due to the castling, lost its function.
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