Praha
Project: 2025
Realisation: 2025
Author: Marcela Steinbachová, Pavel Směták

investor: Divadlo v Dlouhé

 

The renovation focused on the main hall of the theater, which is located in the city palace built in the art-deco style in the late 1920s. The design follows the then concept of the operetta interior in the basement, which was conceived eclectically and connected the Baroque shapes of the balconies and ceiling with the delicate details of the grilles and paintings. The interior was described in the contemporary press as pleasantly surprising. "The walls are kept in warm English red, painted with silver filigree and ivory. The railings are silver. Silver is also repeated in a discreet form in the lighting fixtures, fireplace grilles, fittings, etc." This original interior design gradually disappeared in layers of repainting and due to the great flood in 2002, after which the theater was completely renovated. The interior was designed in a distinctive red color of the seats and carpets, which were complemented by gray wall surfaces and gold details of metal elements.

The new reconstruction of the hall was necessary primarily due to the retired seats and is also related to the change in the artistic direction of the theater; the shape of the auditorium elevation was not changed and the floor was not structurally interfered with. The design is based on the original period interior of the operetta with art deco details. The auditorium space is unified by a palette of muted color shades of English red and allows the events on the stage to stand out. The principle of the then color of selected elements is preserved - a light strip of the balcony and ceiling with lighting and a darker back plan of the auditorium. The richer red painting is covered with a delicate linear decor, continuing the original concept with ornaments. The choice of the color of the carpet and seat upholstery is also based on the unified value. The details use gray-silver paint for the grilles.

An atypical, simple-shaped seat was designed for the hall, which was based on the previous ones with an extension of the seat. The color of the seat upholstery and the staining of the plywood parts of the armrests are always unified by the same shade, a softer reddish color for the parterre, and a neutral gray for the balcony.

The reconstruction of the hall is the first significant step towards the renovation of the entire interior of the theater. The renovation of other spaces is planned in the next stage.

Photographs: Tomáš Souček

 

Prague Vršovice
Project: 2024
Realisation: 2025
Author: Marcela Steinbachová
Collaborator: Julia Smolińska, Ing. arch. Pavel Směták
Private investor

The apartment building in Vršovice, dating from the early 20th century, had original surfaces that were significantly damaged by use, and the corridors had been altered by renovations in the 1980s, when green was the dominant color. The aim of the new design was to restore the elegance and original details of the common areas and to unify the color scheme into more muted and simple colors. The original, significantly damaged ornamental tiles on the ground floor were professionally removed and used to replace cracked areas on the upper landings. The ground floor entrance hall was unified by a new floor made of cast black terrazzo with a decorative border. The non-original wall coatings on the staircases were replaced by muted colors with a light detail (strip), which highlights the ornamental floors on the landings. The metalwork elements of the railings were refurbished and given a dark graphite color, while the paint was removed from the handrails, leaving the wood surface exposed. The staircase at the entrance is dominated by a new brass ornament, a decorative pine cone.

 

 

 

Photographs: Tomáš Souček

 

Prague
Project: 2023–2024
Realisation: 2024
Author: Marcela Steinbachová
Collaborator: Ing. arch. Marie Krabačová
Private investor

The apartment is located on the ground floor of a house in Prague's Vršovice. The changed layout of the apartment increased the standard of the flat and added a full bathroom. All the valuable elements of the apartment have been preserved. The repaired joinery elements were complemented by original fittings. The demolished door was transformed into a new storage space. In addition, the frieze floors were repaired and added. The restored terrazzo flooring resembles the original floors in a simplified way. The newly created bathroom is clad in timeless white mosaic with interlocking paired tiles and floor tiling.

 

 

 

 

Photographs: Tomáš Souček

 

Prague - Vinohrady
Realization: 2023-2025
Author: Marcela Steinbachová

Exhibition and art installation designs in the sister gallery of Prostora in Prague's Vinohrady. The original telephone exchange hall was only cleaned and all traces of the building's history were left intact. Individual exhibition installations always work with this building essence and also use materials that were stored during the partial reconstruction. Instead of exhibition plinths, the original wire glass from the gallery's windows is used, and traces of former equipment are included in the hanging works. The exhibition concept is created in close collaboration with individual artists, and the works and space are connected into meaningful wholes. The site-specific installation completes the natural daylight and the lighting of the hall's structural elements with added lighting fixtures on tripods.

Photographs: Jana Vojnárová, Tomáš Souček

 

Prague
Conception: 2020–2021
Realisation: 2021
Author: Marcela Steinbachová
Collaborator: Veronika Tichá
Light design: WD Lux s. r. o.
Investor: Czech Radio's Vltava

The interior transformation of Czech Radio's Vltava broadcasting studio was stimulated by the desire to refresh the overall aesthetic, which would additionally look good in staged camera footage of the studio. The studio is part of the radio complex in Římská Street in Prague's Vinohrady, which was built in 1998–2000 according to the design of the architectural studio A.D.N.S. Since then, it has not undergone any major construction modifications.

The aim of the interior transformation was to create an adequate background for radio interviews or broadcast concerts with good acoustics inside. The initial idea of a neutral and rather intimate environment was soon extended by the idea of easily changing the atmosphere of the studio to suit the moods of individual programs. At the time of the advancing digitization, the idea of a light wall made of LED strips arose, for which many light motifs can be programmed - static and dynamic, one or more colours, inscriptions and any other graphics. It is a solution that enables future development according to the current needs of the space.

Without lighting the LED wall, the interior is tuned to a neutral dark grey colour. The studio is lined with perforated wooden plywood panels stained in light grey. The carved simple repeating geometric motif allows the panels to be connected with almost no visible gap. Under the wooden panels a black mesh lining is present which covers the various acoustic wall panels necessary for the proper functioning of the recording studio. The cladding ends at the floor and ceiling with a detail of the negative joint. A new black carpet is laid on the floor. The design also includes a new broadcast discussion table. The two-level board in the shape of a regular pentagon is made of black-stained plywood with a milled soft strip of black natural linoleum for shock absorption. The atypically shaped base is a box for connecting and laying cables of all necessary devices. The studio was completed around the perimeter with a console under the ceiling used to place spotlights, speakers and cameras.

Photographs: Andrea Lhotáková

 

Prague
Project: 2020–2021
Realisation: 2021
Author: Marcela Steinbachová
Collaborator: Vít Holý, Veronika Tichá
Private investor

The reconstruction of the functionalist apartment in London Street with many original elements consisted mainly of a sensitive renovation of the preserved elements and cleaning of the space from non-period interventions and surfaces with the intention of maintaining the greatest possible degree of authenticity.

The apartment is located on the 5th floor of a six-storey building on the corner of Anglická / Londýnská streets in the listed heritage zone of Prague centre. The house was built in 1938 according to the design of architects J. Kittrich and J. Hrubý. It is structurally designed as a reinforced concrete skeleton with brick partitions. The façade with large window openings and loggias is lined with artificial stone. The house has a preserved period heating system of concrete ceilings, which is regulated in individual apartments by valves protruding from the walls in the service rooms of the apartment.

All valuable elements have been preserved in the apartment. Wooden windows, windowsills, doors and built-in wardrobes are (with a few exceptions) original from the 1930s. These joinery elements were refurbished and put into operation, including the original fittings. Furthermore, frieze floors were refurbished and locally supplemented. The original tiles from the former kitchen were used in the hall. The fine-grained interior plaster was cleaned from later paintings and provided with a fresh coat. New electrical wiring, including end elements, was added throughout the apartment.

The proposed layout of the apartment can serve as one generous unit or a variant is prepared for 2 kitchens and the division of the apartment into two separate housing units (1 bedroom and 2 bedrooms with a hall).

Photographs: Filip Šlapal

 

Praha
Competitive dialogue: 2018
Project: 2018 - 2019
Realization: 2019 - 2020
Author: Marcela Steinbachová
Co-author: Vít Holý
Investor: Akademie výtvarných umění v Praze

 

Project Concept:

Our approach to the renovation of the School of Architecture was highly respectful towards the building and everyone, who participated on its development. Following up on the work of the two most significant icons of the Czech architecture during the First Republic (Jan Kotěra and Josef Gočár), we have removed all the ill-suited interventions in order to return to the original character. Our attempt was to pursue the generosity of the original solution while adding contemporary elements and without harming anything that was preserved. Despite all the new additions, it was key for us to maintain the school‘s authenticity.

Project Description:

The School of Architecture was established in 1910 by the architect Jan Kotěra. His student Otto Wagner from the Viennese Academy and also the founder of Czech modern architecture created a project for the building as a one-storey construction with an attic in the modernist style complemented with cubist elements by the portal of entry. After Kotěra’s death, the architect Josef Gočár became his successor and embraced the building in his distinct fashion, added a dramatic new floor with a flat roof and proto-functionalist windows in the studio facing the north. Partial adjustments of the spatial arrangements were executed after the war by Jaroslav Fragner and František Cubr. The last subtle interventions before our renovation were done by Emil Přikryl.

Since Josef Gočár’s work, the building had not undergone any major restoration, suffered from humidity in the basement, falling plaster, windows and doors were in emergency condition, floors and metalwork elements were deteriorating and the entry staircase was falling into ruin. Nonetheless, the building was preserved in a very authentic condition with a number of original elements.

The proposal designed by the Academy students under the lead of Emil Přikryl and his assistants was based on maintaining the maximum authenticity and aura of the building. We attempted to follow this proposal.

Technical Information:

Façade and metalwork:
Due to the limited time for the proposal and execution, the renovation needed to be divided into several stages. Exterior plaster and metalwork pieces were renovated directly by the restorers from the Academy, professors together with their students. Despite the time pressure, a significant emphasis was put on researching the original materials and mixtures. With an exception of severely damaged spots, the plaster was repaired and “patched”. The metalwork turned back to its dark grey colour and unified the façade to emphasise its fragmentation. Removing the unoriginal drainpipe in the centre of and defacing the northern sculptural façade was essential. After an immense effort concerning the statics and negotiations with representatives of heritage preservation we managed to remove the unoriginal pair of flagpoles on the southern façade and instead we have placed a replica of the only original console on the building’s roof from Josef Gočár.

Interior:
Out of all the original wooden windows and doors it was necessary to replace with a replica only one door in the English courtyard. All others could have been restored. Under the layer of plywood, we discovered original sections of window sills, which could be also restored. In the bathrooms and studios both the original and new tiling as well as the original flagging remained, all staircases including the railings were refurbished. After pressure testing the preserved radiators were also refurbished together with the remarkable lighting by Jaroslav Fišer. New floors in brown were chosen after analysing the original linoleum and as a result they are almost identical with the original mixture. According to the rather ambitious demands from the commissioner, almost all the installations were changed to achieve the highest quality of facilities. Hence, we have added a new layer of endpoints such as lighting, radiator valves, sockets and switches, water closets, basins and batteries as well as blackout roller shades, the choice of which was particularly careful.

Dehumidification and basement:
The problem with the long humidified building was solved with a complex digging and sanitation of the basement with a continuous drenage. The new concrete floors in the basement are ventilated. During the construction a ventilation system was discovered at the southern and eastern basement wall; it was cleaned and re-opened. Such interventions enabled the complete renovation of the basement in order to be used as workshops for architecture students. In order to bring light into the underground levels, we have refurbished several walled openings and used transparent doors in galvanized frames. We have also created a new bathroom and a facility room. All the new interventions in the basement are treated in a raw technicist form dominated by galvanized metal plates, concrete floors and uncovered pipe system.

Photographs: Tomáš Souček, Pavel Nasadil, Skupina

 

Prague - Žižkov
Realization: 2020
Author: Marcela Steinbachová
Cooperation: Vít Holý
Investor: Boutique Cinema Přítomnost s.r.o.

Benešov
Study: 2017
Realization: 2018
Author: Marcela Steinbachová
Cooperation: Vít Holý
Project cooperation: SPS Project
Investor: Art and Design Museum, Benešov

The Art Nouveau three-storey building, which serves as the Museum of Art, is located in the centre of Benešov, near the main square. The sensitive reconstruction of the national cultural monument is dedicated to the solution of the main facade and the anteroom of the museum; the opening of the inner courtyard to the public; the connection of the exhibition halls and the construction of the library and café.

Photographs: Filip Šlapal, Matěj Chabera, František Provazník

Location: Mohren - Appenzell AR, Switzerland
Study: 2009-2010
Project: 2010-2011
Construction period: 2014
Authors: Marcela Steinbachova, Martin Rusina
Cooperation: Martin Hart, Linda Kolomaznikova
Investor: Private person

The newly built multi-generation house is located in the Swiss foothills. It is designed as a completion of the barn, which was the only one left after the burning of the original house. It is a wooden building on a concrete plinth, which meets both the demanding wishes of the investor and the conditions of the local building authority. The house responds to the original buildings in the area, to the south (behind the view) it turns with glazing, to the other sides there are mostly square windows with an atypical sticking window frame, based on local traditions. The house is built using local materials and is friendly to the environment, including the materials and technologies inside the house.

Visualisation: Linda Kolomaznikova