Jurkovič’s first family house following his own villa was built in 1907–1908 on a part of his garden, thus partially fulfilling his vision of establishing a new villa estate at the foot of today’s Wilson Woods. It was built for the teacher Josef Kunz and his wife Augusta. Kunz most probably was associated with the Vesna school, whose director was Jurkovič’s first patron in Brno, František Mareš.
The original villa was a modestly sized building whose second storey was hidden behind a tall mansard roof. Jurkovič’s hand is visible in the stone socle, the use of vertical sculptural bands on the facades, roof dormers and the restrained use of folkloric elements. Visitors entered the elevated ground floor via a covered veranda; inside, both floors had three rooms and connecting hallways. The floors were connected by a double-flight wooden staircase with a landing and carved columns. The beamed ceilings had wooden soffits, and the upper floor under the mansard roof was partly designed as a wooden structure. Jurkovič most probably designed the interior as well.
Unlike Jurkovič’s own villa next door, the building was unfortunately never made a registered landmark, which enabled the construction of a new build in its place, although the 2010 project at least followed on the volume of the original building. The design of the garage built into the refurbished fencing – which the villa shares with the Jurkovič Villa on one side and Jana Nečase 6 on the other – recalls Jurkovič’s architectural style.
Matěj Kruntorád
