Excerpt: Art Maisonette in Letna is a residence designed by architectural form Este Architekti. The distinctive personalities and temperaments of our long-term friends reflect the colour paintings and installations that gradually filled their living space and the chosen concept of interior adjustments and shifts. To step outside the comfortable minimalist design zone, the investors themselves inspired us with their distinctive taste and the investor’s non-conforming wardrobe.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by Architect] In Prague’s Letná, Maisonette is a six-month road trip with children around the United States and a passion for the Czech graffiti scene and art in general. From the simple assignment of minor layout adjustments for more effortless functioning of the family, in which the children will start going to school one by one after the “last” holidays, the overall facelift of the apartment crystallized during the design and preparation.
The first reconstruction took place together with the purchase of part of the high-rise apartment building from the late 1930s several years ago in cooperation with investors and Majaq architects. From this time comes the solution on the principle of an open layout of the lower part of the apartment around the central chimney wall. A straight steel staircase connected the floors with a partial glass railing. The upper bedroom was joined by a built-in roof neck, from which it is possible to enter the terrace facing west to the courtyard.
Distinctive personalities and temperaments of our long-term friends reflect the colour paintings and installations that gradually filled their living space and the chosen concept of interior adjustments and shifts. We entered the variety and relative habitability with new materials and other colours hidden in the carpentry elements of wardrobes and built-in wardrobes. The colour of the interior thus constantly changes with its daily use.
The original concrete screeds on the walls and oak parquet floors have been preserved and renovated with toning into their natural shade. The kitchen has been upgraded. There is no need to get rid of things that work unnecessarily. The new geometry of the stair railing, on the other hand, defended the new glass. All other areas and elements were maximally simplified, illuminated and harmonized so that the elevated space of the open layout still stands out and at the same time, the colours of the paintings and the added furniture dominated against the background of clean walls with a minimum of details.
The wings of the inner doors with hidden door frames are therefore made in a repainted white painting of the adjoining walls. The entrance hall closes with a large-format mirror wall with integrated doors to the bathroom and toilet. The original separate loggia to the courtyard was glazed at the level of the façade, creating an illuminated niche extending the corridor with padded seating and, at the same time, another exhibition area. The colour accents are closed by a light and dark grey cement trowel in the bathroom with a small-format anthracite mosaic shower.
The rule of working with empathy for specific people, their lives and needs has been confirmed. To step outside our comfortable minimalist design zone, the investors themselves inspired us with their distinctive taste and the investor’s non-conforming wardrobe. Thanks to remote communication, the whole process was not easy, but we thank you for the opportunity.
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