The story of Myšák's house

However, this story begins in 1883, when the original Neo-Renaissance house was built by architect Otto Ehlen. In 1911, František Myšák bought the building in Vodičkova Street and opened his confectionery there. 11 years later the house is rebuilt in the rondo-cubist style, sometimes called Slavic art deco, and is extended by 3 floors according to Josef Čapek's design. At that time the house also received its iconic rondocubist façade inspired by the work of Josef Gočár. The building survived World War II and the totalitarian regime that nationalized it.

In 2007, at the invitation of a private investor, we carried out another significant transformation, creating a multifunctional building with four underground and eight above-ground floors. In addition to the reconstruction of the historic building with the Myšák confectionery, a gap was added to Vodičkova Street and a wing of residential buildings was extended towards the Franciscan Garden.

During the reconstruction, five floors of the historic load-bearing wall of the old building were demolished. Only the ground floor with the pastry shop was preserved. Despite this, an architectural solution was achieved that fits in with the original historic buildings.

Not surprisingly, our greatest pride in the project is the façade in a five-axis symmetrical composition that naturally relates to the neighbouring buildings. In front of it are pre-set printed glass panels that create a subtle play of shadows and textures against the sun. The graphic design was done by Tomáš Machek's graphic studio Side2. You can see what the building looks like eighteen years after its last major redevelopment in the photos by Alex Shoots Buildings.