In a short street perpendicular to the north face of the square Náměstí Míru, within sight of the pair of houses built by the founders of the firm Müller & Kapsa, a four-storey apartment house was built in 1938 for one of the Pilsen lawyers. The unobtrusive, though very impressive Functionalist building followed the terraced development of Modernist apartment houses in the western part of Klostermannova Street erected during the 1930s by the builder Václav Hajšman (C3–2286).
The technical plans for the building were drawn up in July 1938 by the builder Jan Baxa from the Pilsen suburb Újezd, who was also the author of the plans for the apartment house at 15 Přeštická Street (C5–2025). Management of the construction was taken over the next month, however, by the builder Ondřej Baxa, who at the same time was cooperating with the architect Leo Meisl on the construction of Jan Kokoška’s villa on Nepomucká Street (1937-1939).
The street-side facade of the apartment house on Náměstí Míru is dominated by a rounded oriel, the gentle curves of which are emphasised by the corner ribbon windows. The upper part of the oriel, rising from the first floor to the third and crowned with a subtle metal balustrade, serves as a balcony for the flats on the uppermost floor. Elliptical curves, typical of the sensual trend in Functionalism, were also employed in completing the balconies and verandas on the courtyard facade of the house. The author of the plans evidently dedicated great attention to the rear facade, brought to life by various projecting sections, an offset staircase and a terrace penetrating to the level of the hipped roof.
But for the more recent pink shades of the facade paints, the house has retained its original appearance, including the windows and door jambs. To this day it testifies that the best Pilsen Functionalist architecture of the late 1930s bears comparison even with Prague and Brno examples.
LV
Bohuslav Brych