10 Bendova Street

One of the most beautiful Pilsen apartment interiors designed by Adolf Loos has been preserved on the first floor of an apartment building at 10 Bendova Street. The interior was created for the chemical engineer Vilém Kraus and his wife Gertrude between 1930-1931. The history of the apartment and its inhabitants is very sad and dramatic. Only Vilém Kraus survived the World War II and the persecution of the Nazi regime (his wife and two children were killed in a concentration camp). The apartment was subsequently seized by the totalitarian communist regime which forced Vilém Kraus to flee to exile in Great Britain again. During the communist era, the original apartment was divided into three smaller apartment units, a part of the original interior equipment was irreversibly destroyed at the time.

The most valuable part of the apartment is the exclusive salon connected with the dining room. The main motive which is used here is a mirroring effect, the mirror walls opposite each other create an interesting effect of an endlessly reflected space. Loos created a delicate combination of walls tiled with green marble Cipollino featuring streaks of white with wooden built-in furniture and a cassette ceiling, for both of which he used high-quality dark brown mahogany wood. We can find a characteristic fireplace made of grey bricks which is a typical feature of designs by Adolf Loos. Very valuable is also the almost completely preserved bedroom with furniture built into the perimeter walls of the room. This part of the apartment has been preserved including interesting and very practical design details - a dressing table, hat hooks in the wardrobes, drawers and other well-thought-out storage areas.

Today this apartment is a part of the property of the city of Pilsen. Between 2013 and 2014 it was reconstructed according to the design of architects Ludvík Grym and Jan Sapák. The preserved original equipment was carefully restored, missing furniture was not replaced by replicas but by elements of contemporary design so that it is obvious at first glance which parts are original and which are not. As a result, a variable space which is suitable for small-scale cultural events was created.