The semi-detached house at Lužova 4–6 is a well-preserved example of a more intricately designed villa from the later phase of the Association Neighbourhood. On Lužova Street, nos. 4, 6 and 8 were built in 1905 as examples of building type XIII, while the neighbouring no. 10 (built in 1906) is type XIV. Of the entire group, only the semi-detached house at Lužova 4‒6 has been preserved in a relatively authentic state, mainly thanks to the fact that, until recently, it enjoyed cultural monument status. Lužova 4 was owned by the typesetter Johann Leitner, and no. 6 belonged to the merchant Franz Woharek. The current appearance of both street elevations is the result of later adaptations. According to plans for building type XIII, each half originally had two floors only on the side where they touched (i.e., in the middle of the double house). On the far sides, the avant-corps were adjoined by a single-storey wooden veranda from which one entered the two-room apartment on the ground floor. Leitner renovated his half in 1928, when an addition and extra floor were built according to plans by the builder Adolf Knirsch. Further construction work took place in 1936, when a courtyard extension was created according to plans by F. K. Frank. More recently, a modern extension was added in the courtyard. Next door at Lužova 6, the wooden veranda was converted into a single-storey living space sometime during the 20th century, and later an extra floor was added on top.
Each half of the semi-detached whole has three window bays and slightly protruding central avant-corps with Romanticist beam structures in the gables. Each window bay is framed by pilasters with decorative capitals and is horizontally divided by broad stringcourses. These decorative elements in the style of geometric Art Nouveau are made of plaster, while the large open surfaces between them are made of fair-faced bricks. The richly structured windows, with distinctive pediments and parapets, are rectangular on the ground floor and arched on the first floor. The centrally placed doorways are accentuated by artificial stone frames with a curving top edge. The building’s impressive architectural form is characterized by a contrasting combination of fair-faced bricks and light plaster, complemented by decorative wooden structures. This combination gave the houses a touch of the picturesque, an important characteristic at the time associated with the ideal of family housing.
The semi-detached family house on Lužova Street is one of the best-preserved buildings in the Association Neighbourhood and thus a very valuable architectural example of this unique, uniformly composed family housing development. Although we do not yet know the authors of the designs for the individual building types, the entire neighbourhood is undoubtedly a remarkable Art Nouveau development of clear architectural quality.
Pavla Cenková
