"Redesign" of a newly built villa in a residential area with a gym on the 4th floor and beautiful views
In the residential area of Prague's Troja district, architects Roman Vrtiška, Vladimír Žák and Lucie Němcová designed the interiors of a four-storey villa house. The clients' wish was to create a tailor-made living space for a married couple of professional athletes, which would enhance the existing building. The unique feature is, among other things, the location of the gym on the top floor of the building with an impressive view of Prague. The concept of the villa is tuned in light and dark tones, always according to the importance and function of the room or space. The authors tried to work with the potential of the psychology of colours. The light colour is used primarily in the daytime/active zones, while the dark colour encourages relaxation and calming.
The couple left the design of the complete "redesign" of their newly purchased villa in a residential area in Prague's Troja district, primarily its interior, in the hands of the design duo Vrtiška&nb & Žák. Since both owners are professional athletes and often travel abroad for work, they gave the designers a free hand not only in terms of design, but also in a large part of the decision-making process during the reconstruction itself. Architect Lucie Němcová worked with them on the project. The concept of the entire villa is based on an effective combination of light and dark shades, always applied depending on the importance and function of the space.
Large areas of materials were then complemented by furnishing elements in the context of the whole interior so that they do not take unnecessary attention to themselves.
"When selecting handles for the whole house, we clearly chose mimicry - we wanted handles that would blend in naturally with the surface of the door. With its perfectly minimalist shape, the MINIMAL fitting with a rosette that does not exceed the outline of the handle itself clearly fulfilled this condition. And since we alternate dark and light doors in the interior, we needed to respond to this," says the designers Vrtiška&n & Žák.
So they chose matte black titanium handles for the black doors, but white was not available at the time. "We had been considering a white finish for the handles for a long time, and when Roman Vrtiška and Vladimír Žák approached us about the possibility of producing MINIMAL handles in white, we were happy to accept. This project pushed us to make it happen," says Roman Ulich, chief designer at M&T, the only manufacturer of designer door and window hardware in the Czech Republic and a leader in surface finishes, which today offers a total of 18 different surfaces for its handles.
On the first floor, which is accessible from the street, there is a garage, a welcome hall and one of two spacious dressing rooms. A staircase in dark oak wood veneer leads to the other areas of the house, and in addition to this, the individual floors are also connected by a lift. On the lowest floor, which opens onto a gallery, there is a large central space combining a living room, a black and white kitchen and a dining room. The living room is dominated by the iconic UP armchair by B&B Italia. The iconic armchair and the bright sofa are complemented by the HRIB coffee and side tables, designed by the Vrtiška & Žák design duo for the Slovak manufacturer Javorina. The living area then seamlessly transitions into a relaxation zone with a seating area by the fireplace, an alcove that is the most striking example of ingenious work with wood tones - the whole is done in a dark finish and with black accessories. From this floor, which is already below ground level as seen from the main entrance and road, there is also an exit to the garden with an outdoor kitchen, terrace seating and a heated indoor pool.
Above the entrance floor is the private floor of the residents of the house. There is a bedroom, in which the authors of the interior, according to the idea of working with the psychology of colours, made extensive use of dark wood. To promote a relaxing atmosphere, a free-standing bathtub is located directly in the room. The master bathroom with its unique fittings is adjacent to the bedroom. The second floor then houses the second of the dressing rooms as well as a children's room with a separate bathroom.
The entire fourth floor is dedicated to training activity, and also includes an ice bath, bar and bathroom. The gym is seamlessly connected to the outdoor terrace.
Minimal door hardware was used throughout the project. The top offer of fitting Minimal & Maximal is with its complexity the number one in the world of handles. It is for all of us who know that detail matters and require the greatest possible comfort and design consistency in the project. For its innovative design and complex product line with a clear target: The whole project - one design, won the fitting Minimal & Maximal a prestigious international design prize red dot Design award winner 2013.
Minimal fitting design: Roman Ulich