Villa “Florea”

This villa, built in 1927 for Josef Kolář, is one of the Čeněk Musil’s most accomplished works. The “apartment block with a workshop” (as described in the building permit) was to provide not only residential premises, but also a workshop for handmade artificial flowers and wreaths. On the ground-floor level, where the company had its back rooms (office, storeroom), was an elongated room extending out into the garden, built as the workshop. The first floor was designed as an apartment; it had a hall, kitchen and larder, dining room, two further rooms, a WC/bathroom and a terrace.

The façade of the building is especially architecturally interesting: its design was entirely focused on catching the eye of passers-by, forcing them to notice the name of the company. One conspicuous feature is the fair faced brickwork on just one corner – highlighting the suspended advertising sign, another is the strikingly moulded, right-angle-bending cornice, which snakes around the entire building while highlighting the company name FLOREA on the façade.

(GA)