At the end of the 1960s, four standardized (so called “šumperák”) family homes were built in the area of Peciny and Příčná Streets. The original design of this Modernist building, with its innovative floor plan, flat roof and facade, and easily distinguishable thanks to its ubiquitous asymmetry and sloping segments, was carried out by the Šumperk builder Josef Vaněk in 1966. He sold the project plans, along with a detailed list of materials and DIY “building instructions”, throughout the former Czechoslovakia. He wanted, to as he himself said, “fill the gap between the needs of builders and the output of the State Planning Institute which tended to neglect the issue of family homes”.
The designer emphasized the material savings, low building costs and the building's compliance with modern living standards. Counting on a relatively small building plot, he chose a hitherto rarely used layout in which the whole floor with 4 rooms, a kitchen and bathroom is relocated to the first floor. The ground floor with a covered patio is reserved for utility purposes (garage, laundry, furnace and drying room, workshop, a mini-cellar for fruit and vegetables) thus, rendering a full cellar superfluous. The unique, modern interior works together with the lines and edges within the body of the building itself (framing of the balcony, roof pitch) and with minor details (handrails, patio paving, etc.), all taking their cue from the so-called Brussels Style. The large balcony itself is a distinctive construction feature running along the full length of the front facade, and behind it, a full-length horizontal fully-glazed strip combined with a French window.
Altogether, the building impressed with its glazing and lightness. The building dubbed by the nationwide press as an “Affordable, practical and graceful home”, became so popular that it can be seen in every other town or village.
However, many builders modified the layout of the building or completely disregarded many of the original interior design features. Such is the case of the Háněls' “šumperák” in Litomyšl. The owners bought Vaněk's plans for eight hundred and forty Crowns and, over the next three years, built the house themselves on a convenient plot with an impressive view over “Černá hora”. It was precisely for this view that the main facade does not overlook the street but the forested slope opposite. The investors, therefore, adapted the ground floor and, in place of the (difficult to access) garage, they incorporated an extra room. The investors scrupulously ignored the original interior layout (they left out the built-in cupboards and the impressive serving hatch between the dining and living room). In spite of this, their “šumperák” is one of the best-preserved examples of this type of individualized housing.
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