The historical built-up area of housing in the west section of Antonína Tomíčka Street, known as Betlém, was rejuvenated between 2006 and 2008 with the construction of a unique “timber building” designed by Brno architects, Aleš Burian and Gustav Křivinka, which, despite its modern interpretation, merges brilliantly with its surroundings in its context. The designers respected not only the line of the street and the height of the existing buildings, but also maintained the characteristic silhouette of the surrounding semi-hipped and pitched roofs.
Whilst the original building no longer existed, the designers had to come to terms with the unusually complicated and narrow building plot which had a five-metre height difference. At the same time, the design had to accommodate an existing garage at the foot of the plot near the street. A considerable part of the building layout was therefore dug into the terrain and used to connect the garage with the section above ground level, which was, apart from the north facing walls towards the neighbouring house, an entirely wooden construction clad with larch-wood planks. The characteristic front silhouette in the form of an inverted keel, fronted with a glazed bay window and a patio in the form of a wooden pier, was dictated by glued wooden segmental trusses.
The focal point of the ground floor part of the house is the fireplace, around which all shared activities take place. The dining room is in a prominent position at the front facade with its glazed bay window (conservatory), offering impressive views over the town and its landmarks. The rear of the building features a low ground-floor quadrangular annex containing a pool. Large sliding doors lead from here onto a small, intimate patio, separated from the street section of the plot with a porch. Private rooms and the owner's art studio are located on the first floor, which features an external staircase leading down into the garden.
This, the only private undertaking in Litomyšl by the Burian–Křivinka design studio which has otherwise made its name in the town with a range of excellent projects for public buildings and spaces, perfectly merges the historical and urban legacy of its surrounding with the language of pure contemporary architecture. It is a testimony to the time of its creation but also, as the designers themselves say, to the nature of its inhabitants.
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