Slavíkova vila Tenement house

Slavíkova vila is a functional family house from 1930 to 1932, located in the Brno part of Žabovřesky on the northern slope of Kraví hora. Architect Josef Kranz designed construction for engineer Antonín Slavík, long-time director of Brno Radiojournal branch. This object is an important example of interwar modernism and architecture of the first republic.

In the 19th century, Žabovřesky expanded towards Brno and was officially connected to the Great Brno in 1919. The Czech official district was established on the slopes of Kraví hora, which until 1939 connected Žabovřesky with the Masaryk district. At this time, moderate construction and clean means of expression were applied in construction, which was a reaction to the former monumental Austrian culture.

Josef Kranz, who collaborated with Bohuslav Fuchs, designed a villa in 1930. Antonín Slavík, an investor and an electrical engineer, was also a military radiotelographer and director of Radiojournal, where he supported experiments by young creators and broadcasts in the Esperant. He was a traveler, polyglot and art historian. In addition to the family house, Kranz was entrusted with the project of the Brno Radio Palace.

The villa is situated on the corner of the street crossing of Tům and Lusatika. Due to the narrow terrain, the construction has a mass-fragmented shape, resembling a quarter-section with a rounded angle. The three-storey object uses a reinforced concrete skeleton with visible columns in the main facade. The structures and fillings are lined with fibreboard heraclite, which enabled rapid construction, reduced costs and ensured thermal insulation.

The main western facade contains a preset cubus above the basement, carried by three thin cylindrical columns. The interior equipment of the house comes mainly from Standard, led by architect Jan Vaněk from 1925 to 1933. The construction work was carried out by the Brno Philistine of the Prague company Václav Neklasil.

Antonín Slavík lived in his house until the end of the 1930s, then engaged in antitinetic resistance activity and was executed in 1942. The villa remained owned by the Slavík family and was thus preserved in its original state.

In 1988, the front of the house was placed on the list of cultural monuments, but protection was abolished at the end of 2020 after the court's decision on late registered monuments.

Slavíkova vila represents an authentic fragment of Brno functionalism and the fate of its founder. Its exterior and layout offer insight into architectural trends and social life of interwar Czechoslovakia, making it interesting to visit.