Townhouse with a Café

A complete renovation has given rise to a townhouse in Kamenice nad Lipou with a café, yoga studio, and residential space.

The house on Husovo Square is a traditional small-town terraced house with a passageway to its own farmyard. The diverse assignment required making maximum use of the layout possibilities of the original house. The total reconstruction is a collective project of the Zahradník family – the men are organizing the implementation within their own construction company, while the women are the heart and soul of the service – the café and yoga studio.

The historic building facing the square serves as a café. The exposed brickwork and beamed ceiling inside reveal the scars of past functions and alterations. The exposed interior structure houses a precisely designed stainless steel café counter and other necessary facilities such as toilets.

Guests sit on a long ash bench and blue chairs. This creates a colorful surface collage composed of authentic and natural materials – whether original or contemporary. The café bistro extends through a passageway to the courtyard, where guests sit on a long concrete bench.

The extension in the courtyard, inserted into the footprint of the original farm stables, is completely new. Its architecture does not hide its contemporary nature, but responds to the principles of the original houses. The ground floor is built of old bricks from a demolition site, the balcony is supported by wooden beams and complemented by a delicate steel staircase and railing. Behind the glass wall of the extension, there is a studio on the ground floor, used for yoga, lectures, or seminars.

A galvanized staircase leads from the courtyard to the gallery, which connects the original historic house with the contemporary extension. The attic of the historic house has been completely rebuilt. The roof facing the square retains its original shape – the height of the ridge and the slope.

However, a generous dormer has been added to the courtyard, allowing for the development of a 3+kk apartment layout inside. This creates an “apartment above the café” for one of the sons. Two other rental units are accessible from the gallery. The first is a therapy room with facilities, the second is a one-room apartment with a small terrace on the green roof.

Despite the very complicated reconstruction, the family’s efforts have resulted in a lively townhouse that helps to revitalize a small town in the Vysočina region.

See more images in the gallery below

Multiple drawings are provided below for reference

Project name: Townhouse with a Café
Client: Zahradnik Family
Project location: Husovo namesti 66, Kamenice nad Lipou, Czech Republic

Studio: matej šebek architekti
Author: Matej Šebek
Co-author: Matej Belohlávek, interior design

Project year: 2021
Completion year: 2025
Built-up area: 200 m²
Gross floor area: 367 m²
Usable floor area: 262 m² total
128 m²: café and studio
68 m²: apartment

Photographer: Radek Úlehla