Werkbund Baba estate You're out coordinates houses architects model 3D contacts The only house by a foreign architect, the Dutch avant-gardist Mart Stam, commissioned by the building engineer Jiří Palička and his wife Emílie, a textile artist and lace maker, is different from the others at first sight because of its longitudinal spatial concept. The house is situated on a steep slope and, together with the delicate reinforced concrete construction with columns in the south façade, this provides the house with airiness; this is further amplified by the semi-open terrace space, which is not on the roof but on the ground floor. It is covered by a sort of “awning” created by the continuation of the bedroom floor. On the other hand, Stam’s airiness and lightness were not in keeping with the conditions of the Prague climate. The minimalist interiors were designed by Ladislav Žák. The current owner carried out the reconstruction of the house, including the pavement and fencing, with great sensitivity on the basis of a design by the architect Ladislav Lábus. The Palička House is an excellent example of how to restore Baba to its original unique character. Mart Stam (*1899 Purmerend, the Netherlands +1986 Goldach, Switzerland) A self-taught Dutch architect, urban planner and furniture designer; one of the founders of the international ideological association C.I.A.M.; he worked for Hans Poelzig and Bruno Taut’s studios and was the director of the School of Industrial Design in Amsterdam and later the rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden, as well as the director of the Berlin Art Institute. He was the only foreign architect to work on the Baba estate, where he designed a villa for the builder Palička and his wife Emílie, who discovered his work at the Stuttgart Exhibition in 1927. He designed the iconic dining chair for Thonet. 1917-1919 studied at the Amsterdam University of the Arts 1919 worked in the architectural studio of Marinus Jan Granpré Moliér, Pieter Verhagen and Albert J. T. Kok in Rotterdam 1920-1922 imprisoned for refusing to perform military service 1922 worked on the Hague building plan went to Berlin, cooperated with Max Taut and El Lissitzky 1923 co-founder of the architectural magazine ABC in Zurich 1923-1924 worked in the architectural studio of Karel Moser in Zurich 1925-1928 member of the Dutch group of architects called “De 8”, later renamed as “De 8 en Opbouw” 1926-1927 worked in the architectural studio of Brinkman and Van der Vlugt in Rotterdam 1927 1928-1930 worked in Frankfurt am Main on the “New Frankfurt” housing projects 1931-1934 architect and urbanist in the Soviet Union in Ernst May’s working group (urban projects) 1935-1948 independent architect in Amsterdam 1939-1948 Director of Amsterdam House of Arts Crafts 1948-1952 professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts 1950-1952 Director of the Weißensee Academy of Art in Berlin 1953 return to Amsterdam 1966 relocation to Switzerland Significant Works 1926 steel-tube armchair 1926-30 Van Nelle Factory Rotterdam (in cooperation with the architectural studio of Brinkman and Van der Vlugt) 1927 triple villa, Weissenhof housing estate, Stuttgart 1929-1932 Hellerhof housing estate, Frankfurt 1932 house of Emilie and Jiří Palička, Baba, Prague-Dejvice (in cooperation with Jiří Palička) 1935 terraced houses, Amsterdam Na Babě 9, No. 1779 The House of Jiří and Emílie Palička Architect: Mart Stam Builder: The MOK Company the Palička House now, 2020 the Palička House (south façade) Owner Jiří and Emílie Palička Emilíe Paličková won the Grand Prix at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925 as part of the presentation of the Czechoslovak Werkbund. The builder Jiří Palička had a study in the house, where he helped to create the design of the legendary villa of the actress Lída Baarová and her family in nearby Hanspaulka. The architect Ladislav Žák designed it in the spirit of an ocean liner and its original charm was restored again by the architectural studio of Ladislav Lábus.