Apartment with a Terrace
Working for friends is always challenging because they are naturally more honest with you than regular clients. But the hardest part is something else entirely—it’s the weight of responsibility you feel toward them.
Location:
Praha, Czech Republic
Client:
Private
Year of completion:
2018
Built-up area:
290 m²
Budget:
5 mil. CZK
Architects:
Jan Vondrák, Jan Mach, Allesandro Nicolo
Photography:
BoysPlayNice
We designed the Apartment with a Terrace down to the very last drawer. Located in Prague's Vokovice neighborhood, this spacious apartment features three bedrooms, an open-plan living area with a kitchen, and a vast outdoor terrace. The original condition of the apartment, part of a residential complex built in the early 2000s, was far from ideal, prompting us to undertake an extensive renovation. We also made minor adjustments to the overall layout.
We cloaked the appalling original interior in a new, minimalist coat. Shades of brown and rustic built-in furniture—looking as if they had been plucked straight out of a 1990s German outlet catalog—were gleefully bid farewell. On the foundation of the original footprint, we created a fresh, contemporary interior designed to serve as a backdrop for the owner's art collection, taking care not to steal the spotlight from the paintings.
Every room has its own unique magic or trick.
The kitchen walls are clad in metal paneling so that little Gogo has a place to pin up drawings of his mum and dad. A sophisticated ceiling conceals all the technology best kept out of sight, leaving exposed only the dominant light fixtures and state-of-the-art speakers that deliver perfect sound.
The children's room is a boyhood dream beneath a glowing cloud, complete with a playhouse and a dedicated display area for building-kit creations.
The guest bedroom doubles as a study. Alongside light fixtures crafted by Czech glassmakers and skillfully conceived by German designers, the room features a large bookcase. Within its refined structure, the bookcase conceals rolling circles whose compositions evoke the cycles of the moon.
The master bedroom keeps intimate touches reserved for the couple alone. Contactless controls for the bedside lamps and vanity table offer a technological touch that makes adjusting the lighting an effortless, intuitive gesture.
The terrace is a chapter all its own. We teamed up with top landscapers to transform a concrete wasteland into a lush green garden—a welcoming retreat for relaxing in free time. Alongside decorative plants, the rooftop garden yields fresh currants and strawberries.
The entire apartment is driven by a smart home system. It assists the owners not only with daily tasks like climate and lighting control, but also with garden irrigation and monitoring the property against unwanted intruders.
From our occasional visits, we know that the clients truly enjoy living here. It seems we succeeded, and another group of friends is happy.
