Patrik Líbal: The Houses of František Marka in Hrusic

In Hrusicích, connected with the famous Josef Lada, more precisely in the northern part of the cadastral area of this village, a small holiday cottage settlement has emerged, remarkable for its architecture. František Marek, Miloš Flohs, Karel Čapek, and Otto Benda purchased a plot of land from František Matys, a farmer in Hrusicích, in January 1939, but their wives were registered as the official owners. This "gang," as they called themselves, connected to the Vinohrady Ski Club, initially intended to build a larger structure that would have a shared kitchen and a main communal space, but individual couples would have their own bedrooms. However, they abandoned this idea, also considering planned offspring, and built four cottages, designed by the prominent architect František Marek (1899–1971), a student of Josef Gočár at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts. Marek also designed the Vinohradsky Sokol Hall, the extension of a bank on Na Poříčí Street, participated in the construction of the new Lidice, and designed the pavilion for large mammals at the Prague Zoo. The cottages with sloping roofs are located on a former wooded slope above the Mnichovka stream and have a rectangular floor plan. A brick structure sits atop a stone base, and the interior insulation consists of heraklit. Inside, there is a large living room accessible through a foyer, adjacent to a kitchenette, and near the foyer are a toilet and storage room. From the large room, illuminated by a French window, wooden stairs lead to a gallery and sleeping area, and thanks to the windows and second doors, sunlight can stream in practically all day long. The settlement excellently allowed for both individual and collective enjoyment of its residents, and many activities also took place together; for example, ping-pong, volleyball, and theatrical performances for children were organized at the end of summer. Some technical work was also carried out collectively, as roofers would come for maintenance, melting asphalt parts and always painting all four roofs. The cottages of the Mark, Floh, Čapek, and Benda families, which were even published by the magazine Architecture of Czechoslovakia 1946/8, survived into the 21st century, but recently one is threatened with demolition, which would disrupt the entire ensemble. Therefore, it is necessary to find a solution that would prevent the destruction of this work by František Marek, whose 52nd anniversary of death we commemorate on July 18.