In response to the housing shortage after WWI, city officials decided to invest significantly in housing construction and promote cooperative building. To streamline contract distribution, several architects and contractors established the Society of Contractors, whose members primarily designed and built tenement buildings.
The construction the G tenement house took place between July 1921 and 30 June 1922, with occupancy commencing on 1 July of that year.
The façades design was based on the principles of stylized decorative art, specifically art-deco, although its symbolism lacked national connotations. The building features six window axes, with the two side ones forming separate avant-corps framed by wide fluted pilasters. A wide cornice between the ground and first floors is filled in with blind balustrade fields at the sides, while between the second and third floors, there is a profiled cornice adorned with five small putti statuettes. Rectangular fields with stucco acanthus flutes are situated in the side avant-corps between the windows of the first and second floors. Ground-floor windows are terminated by a straight arch, while other windows are rectangular. The sole entrance on the façade axis is framed by channeled pilasters supporting the cornice between the ground floor and the first floor. The façade concludes with a low attic featuring two circular openings broken in the center.
The internal arrangement of the floors is symmetrical, with a central corridor leading to mirrored apartments. The unusual layout, identical on all the three floors, includes two rooms facing the street, the outer one having a separate sleeping alcove connected to the bathroom. At the back of the apartment, there is a kitchen with a pantry, providing access to the bathroom as well. The staircase landing leads to a common balcony facing the courtyard. In the basement, there were eight cellars and a laundry room, while the attic contained eight cubicles.
This building serves as a testament to how architects, contractors, and city officials endeavored to address the post-war housing shortage promptly. They achieved this by constructing tenement houses with high standards of hygiene, ample space, and a noble architectural façade.
LZL
Monument Preservation
The tenement house is part of the listed the urban conservation area in Hradec Králové.
Sources
- Státní okresní archiv v Hradci Králové, fond Berní správa, dokumentace k objektu čp. 584