Atelier RAW

Surely no contemporary architect has had such an impact on the face of Brno as two ex-schoolmates from the Brno University of Technology, the architects Tomáš Rusín (*1962, Ostrava) and Ivan Wahla (*1963, Český Těšín), who were the founding members of the design studio RAW in 1990. The studio's name reflects the names of the architects, but in English also functions somewhat as a manifesto for the studio in the sense of rough, coarse or organic…

Since the 1990s, Rusín and Wahla have taken part in the activities of the Obecní dům Brno association and, in a similar manner as their peers Aleš Burian, Gustav Křivinka, Petr Pelčák and Petr Hrůša, FAW openly embraces the legacy of Brno Functionalist architecture. Characteristic features of their design projects are simple but well thought out forms and layouts, traditional materials (white rendering, engineering brick facing or stone), public ground-floor spaces, strip windows and attention to detail. A further feature of their work is the real, town character – we could even say Brno character – of their numerous apartment blocks, therefore, architecture which is raw in the sense of natural architectonic qualities, not however, raw in the sense of a dismal environment.

One of the first undertakings by the studio was the design of the reconstruction of the Kabinet Múz (1991), at that time the headquarters of the Hadivadla Theatre. Ten years later, the studio continued the theme with the reconstruction of the Alfa cinema (2003), to which the theatre subsequently relocated. This connection with the theatre environment is not purely accidental: alongside his architectural activities, Tomáš Rusín has been designing theatre sets for many years. The range of work of a design studio is however, much wider. In the spirit of interwar architecture it includes cafés functioning as the organic centre of Brno's social and cultural life (Café Steiner, 2002; Café Onyx, 2004; Café Platzek, 2013). The studio has also carried out designs for several stations for Brno MHD (Brno Urban Transport), 1999; 2006-2007, as well as designs for the reconstruction of the Functionalist shelter at Obilní Trh (2017). Their Litomyšl design project also has a transport theme – a complex comprising the bus station and BILLA supermarket, along with the adjoining public space (06-VP2).

During the last few years however, apartment blocks have been the main area of design for the RAW studio. In 2008, Rusím and Wahla completed an apartment block featuring a facade of engineering brick on the corner of Kopečná and Leitnerova streets and, a year later, a house in Křídlovická Street, both in the Old Brno Quarter. Both buildings merge organically with the old blocks in the quarter, the Functionalist character of their strip windows, loggias and set-back top storeys all complement the older architecture of the so-called “pavlač” houses (houses with balcony style walkways). The Martinů Residence in Brno's Masaryk Quarter (2013) is remarkable with its well thought out layout, bordering between a terraced house and a flat, and also the dignified design of the common area with its red, travertine cladding. This was followed by several more apartment blocks in various quarters in Brno, with the designers returning to smaller buildings in Kopečná Street (2014) and, in 2017 the completion of apartment blocks in Francouzká Street and Bratislavská Street.

Among the studio's designs, several solutions for public spaces deserve mention: Joštova Avenue, Václava Havla Lane and Zelný trh in Brno; Masaryk Square, 28. října Street in Ostrava; Masaryk Square in Jeseník; Republiky Square in Žďár nad Sázavou. The largest, and in form the most daring design by the RAW studio, is that of the 2016 poly-functional (predominantly administrative) Dorn building in the vicinity of Brno Main Railway Station. The design of this dominant building is dictated by the shape and orientation of the building plot, which is subjected to heavy traffic, and takes its design cues from 19th-century industrial architecture. These features include its twin-trapezium floor plan, dramatic corner corbels – from some angles an iron, from others a slab – engineering facing brick and a travertine stairway.

1991
Kabinet Múz, Hadivadlo, Sukova 4, Brno-City

1997
Reconstruction of Health Insurance building, Brno-Cejl

1999
MHD urban transport terminal, Brno-Lesná

2003
Hadivadlo, Alfa arcade, Brno-City

2003
Reconstruction and extension of Semilasso Culture Centre, Brno-Královo Pole

2007
Reconstruction of Masaryk Square, Ostrava

2008
Apartment block on corner of Kopečná and Leitnerova streets, Old Quarter Brno

2009
Apartment block in Křídlovická Street, Old Quarter Brno

2010
Reconstruction of Masaryk Square, Jeseník

2011
Administrative, Hlinky Street, Brno-City

2012
Renovation of Villa Tugendhat, Černopolní 45, Brno-City (in cooperation with Mark Tichý and Milan Rak within the framework of the Association for Villa Tugendhat)

2013
Residence Martinů, Bohuslava Martinů Street, Brno-City

2014
Apartment block, Kopečná Street, Staré Brno

2015
Kadetka Complex of flats, Božetěchova Street, Brno - Královo Pole

2015
Reconstruction of Zelný Trh, Brno-City

2015
Reconstruction of Republiky Square in Žďár nad Sázavou

2016
Dorn Poly-functional building, Dornych, Brno-City

2017
Domino Apartment block, Francouzská 69, Brno-City

2017
Poly-functional building, Bratislavská Street, Brno-City