Královo Pole already had a tradition of high-quality architecture in the period before the First World War, and besides several remarkable late historicist buildings it is also home to valuable examples of Art Nouveau architecture. Jan Mašek’s small apartment building on Palackého Avenue is one of the purest examples of the Art Nouveau style in Brno. It is the work of the builder Franz Pawlu and can be included among the radical buildings from his Art Nouveau period which manifest the triumph of the new, reform style.
The slightly projecting taller lateral bays of the six-bay two-storey building are finished with arched gables connected by a low attic. The gables bear the date 1905 and the initials of the builder Jan Mašek (JM). The facade is covered with refined Art Nouveau floral décor with a curvilinear smoke-like motif. This motif, which resembles flowing smoke from a cigarette as it changes shape with the movement of air, was used as a standalone abstract ornament or – as in this case – for the stylized lines of floral leaves and stems. Under the attic and above the second-floor windows, the facade is complemented by a remarkable metal awning resting on metal corbels. The awning is mounted above a similarly designed metal balcony. Richly decorated with arched curves with triple rosettes, it accentuates the piano nobile. The overall design thus reflects the Viennese work of Otto Wagner and his principles of a new decorative style involving the use of stucco relief, metal and glass.
The building’s location at the junction of Husitská Street and Palackého Avenue places it at a prestigious address at the heart of the new town of Královo Pole and expresses the new ‘big-city’ orientation of local architecture after its designation as a city in 1905. It has undergone a general makeover and remains in relatively good condition. Nevertheless, a part of the front wall was knocked down for a new entrance on the left of the street front, and the facade has been painted in striking green colour that reduces the authenticity of this valuable example of Art Nouveau architecture.
Pavla Cenková
