Municipal housing Polička
1. Prize, Architecture Design Competition
Polička, Czech Republic, 2020 – 2026, built
Ing. arch. Michal Gabaš,
Ing. arch. Tomáš Beránek,
Ing. arch. Magdaléna Havlová,
Ing. arch. Eva Gabaš Rosenová
Collaboration: Ing. arch. Tereza Práchenská, Bc. Kryštof Jireš
Landscape: Arkytek
Ing. arch. Martina Kameníková,
Ing. arch. Radek Prokeš,
Engineer: Studio ABS Spol s.r.o.
Ing. arch. Jan Svoboda
On a large plot within a fragmented urban block just behind the historic city walls of Polička, a new municipal housing complex is proposed. The project offers compact, small- and medium-sized apartments with practical layouts, while maintaining a high level of architectural and urban quality.
The existing 1930s children’s home is renovated and adapted to accommodate a new internal layout. On the northern side, a three-storey elongated building connects to the existing terraced houses, with apartments oriented towards the south. In the southern part of the site, the looser urban structure is complemented by a freestanding building containing efficiently arranged apartments organized around a central staircase.
The new buildings are unified by red-brick façades, consistent window proportions and standardized galvanized-steel balconies. The use of brick façades refers to the traditional materials found in the architecture of Polička, where brick façades are also characteristic of several of the city’s important institutions – such as the School of Tomáš G. Masaryk or the local architectural marvel – the modernist “Šmídova vila”. The renovated building is finished with a light-colored render and, like many of the local interwar apartment buildings, is topped with a metal roof.
The space between the buildings is divided into a larger semi-public area with trees and landscaped park-like spaces, and a more private playground at the rear, connected by paths running through the site. This part of the complex also opens up the possibility of further development within the urban block.
The aim of the project is to create a calm environment that, through its solid architectural expression, naturally complements the existing urban structure of the incomplete block. The traditional material of brick plays an important architectural role in this respect.
The winning project, successfully completed in 2026, emerged from an open international architectural competition held in 2021. The expert jury, composed of leading Czech architects, praised the honest material expression of the design and the natural integration of the newly proposed buildings into the surrounding urban fabric of Polička.
