František Kvasnička’s house
1929

Žižkova 1879/44 (Plzeň) Plzeň Jižní Předměstí
Public transport: Náměstí Míru (TRAM 4)
Čermákova (BUS 29)
GPS: 49.7325781N, 13.3643611E

The first "bold" Modernist building on Žižkova Street in the villa neighbourhood of Bezovka was the low house no. 44 from the year 1929 of the builder František Kvasnička, the owner of a modern garage facility, “Centrogaráže” (C2–2009). The elementary boxy shapes of Kvasnička’s house, endorsing the up-to-date trends of Purist and Functionalist approaches, were soon followed in this area by the villa of the private trade school director Heřman Konejl from the years 1930–1931 (C4–1930) by Václav Neckář and the villa of Dr Jiří Freund (C4–1987) by Leo Meisl, built in 1931–1932.

The innovative architectural approach was commented upon by the Building Authority, at whose request the house was located further away from the building line and deeper into the plot, specifically because of "its height and overall solution to the front facade that are so different from the neighbouring houses, to create the environment for an independent external visual impression". The house with its irregular ground plan was one of the first in Bezovka with a reinforced concrete roof and a completely unadorned facade, whose only "ornamentation" was the windows, following the functions of the rooms, and modern tubular railings, applied on the balcony, terrace and staircase. Artistically successful, while evoking an almost avant-garde impression, the original architectural design of the small loft extension housed a non-residential storeroom. The author optically prolonged the extension by adjoining a small wall of the same height broken by a large rectangular opening. Thanks to the aforementioned opening, the wall did not seem too bulky; on the contrary, together with the tubular railings and slender window frames it enhanced the subtle expression of the house.

The apartment on the elevated ground floor consisted of a total of five rooms, a kitchen with a scullery, a maid’s room and, of course, modern sanitary facilities. Given the location of the house, facing the access road with its northern facade, the living rooms were oriented to the south towards the garden, which could be entered across an elevated terrace with a small pool. The basement housed a relatively generous two-bedroom caretaker’s apartment with all sanitary facilities, as well as a laundry, drying room, boiler room and garage.

The original avant-garde style of the house was unfortunately disturbed by the reconstruction of 1977, realised according to the project of the architect Jaroslav Maršík, during which an extension was added in place of the former terrace and the opening in the roof wall was covered to provide space for a new room.

 


 

Investor

František Kvasnička

Sources

  • Archiv Odboru stavebně správního, Technický úřad Magistrátu města Plzně