CREATING A DREAM KITCHEN IN THE MECCA OF

MODERN LIFE: HOME AND KITCHEN DESIGN IN THE STYLE OF THE BAUHAUS LEGENDS IN AN EXTENSIVELY RESTORED TOWN HOUSE IN BRNO

Anyone who visits Brno takes a journey to the origins of modern life. Numerous architectural masterpieces from the last 100 years adorn the cityscape. This is why Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, has become a mecca for architecture enthusiasts. The most well-known building in the city is Villa Tugendhat, built by the great Bauhaus architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1930. Near this famous private villa, which is now a museum, we can find this recently restored – as was the Tugendhat villa just a few years ago – flat in a representative Renaissance revival apartment block. 

Very much in the spirit of the omnipresent modern architecture in Brno, the interior designers have set up a clearly outlined, functional living environment with an elegant, white kitchen and a BORA Professional 2.0 system with its cooktops and cooktop extractor. If BORA had existed when Mies van der Rohes was alive, he would no doubt have incorporated it in his designs. Intuitive to use and with a minimalist appearance, a BORA cooktop with its extractor fully corresponds to the much-quoted formula for good architecture ‘less is more’. Klara Nováková from the Le Bon design studio, who was responsible for the interior design of the flat in the restored town house, is convinced, ‘BORA Professional 2.0 can satisfy even the most demanding users.’ This is why the system is frequently used in Le Bon kitchens. 

On the one hand, this is down to the high level of design freedom offered by BORA. The downwards extractor can be seamlessly integrated anywhere without obstructing your view. This is a great advantage for the modern, open-plan living landscape that was implemented here. It means that the Le Bon kitchen fitters were able to choose freely where they put the cooking area. They decided on a long kitchen island in the middle of the room. This gives the cook a view of the whole room and even enables them to talk to the guests sitting at the dinner table or on the sofa in the living room as they cook, as the downwards extractor is extremely quiet. 

The interior design forms a stark contrast with the historical architectural style of the apartment building, which was built by Brno architect F. A. Dvořák between 1885 and 1888. The renovation was taken on by the architecture firm Arch77, which specialises in the delicate reconstruction of monuments and sacral buildings. The aim of renovating the Dvořák apartment block was to maintain the unique historical value of the building and at the same time adapt it to current living standards. This is why the constructor built all 17 flats to be sold with high-quality fixtures and fittings such as solid oak and hardened natural stone floors. 

In this way, the historical and modern elements of the building are linked in all of the apartments, but especially in this one. Combined with the traditional parquet floors, the windows and interior doors in the renovated Renaissance revival style give the flat a timeless atmosphere, which is especially brought into the here and now by the simple, all-white kitchen with its elegant worktop made from special glass, and the BORA cooktop extractor system.