Atelier Štěpán adds metallic details to renovated Czech Renaissance building
Architecture studio Atelier Štěpán has modernised a landmark building in the historic centre of Jihlava in the Czech Republic, using silver tones and stainless steel to reference the town's history of minting currency.
Silver House is a renovated Renaissance-style burgher house – the kind of home typically owned by the medieval middle class – located on Jihlava's central Masaryk Square.
The project by Atelier Štěpán set out to give the previously unused building a new public purpose, giving each of the four floors a distinct function.
The basement now houses an exhibit of archaeological artefacts discovered on the site, while the entrance level accommodates a tourist information centre and a teahouse.
Upper floors contain a 50-seat concert venue and two smaller salons with frescoed walls, along with facilities for local businesses and cultural organisations. There is also a small apartment on the second floor facing the square.
The name, Silver House, references the town's 13th-century minting legacy, which informed the use of silver tones complemented by shades of grey throughout the building.
"Silver stands out against this grey base as a unifying accent connecting old and new architecture," said the studio. "Stainless steel elements highlight new interventions, while tin-coated artisan features nod to traditional craftsmanship."
Examples of these metallic details include a pearlescent finish in the concert space, as well as a curved-steel kitchen and stylised historical features such as the panelled doors.
A staircase leading to the attic was clad in metal panels that emphasise its self-supporting structure, with treads visible from above and below.
The building's original roof truss, dating from 1893, was structurally flawed and the floor beneath required significant renovation, so the studio decided to introduce a new roof truss and raise the roof height slightly.
The updated roof preserves the original shape but sits just above the historic masonry, creating a ribbon window that, along with discreet skylights incorporated into the standing-seam metal roof, fills the attic space with natural light.
A lift was installed at the centre of the building to ensure all of the floors are accessible. The walls of the lift shaft were left untreated to provide a historical cross-section of the building's construction.
"The Silver House is like a historical sandwich," explained architect Marek Štěpán.
"Every floor is from a different era. You begin with Gothic in the basement and end in the 21st century in the attic. You can experience all of this concentrated in a single elevator ride."
Highlights include the second-floor apartment with its unusual bathroom, featuring a silver mosaic floor and functional areas enclosed in a glass box in the centre of the space to preserve the room's restored historical murals.
The studio also added a blackened concrete and stainless mesh annexe to the rear of the building that replaces the former courtyard wing.
This volume contains service spaces alongside a winter garden for the teahouse and a staircase where the old and new buildings meet.
The project features a material palette that references traditional construction methods, including lime-washed plaster surfaces, wooden windows and roof trusses, along with flooring in stone, wood and terrazzo.
Atelier Štěpán was founded by Vanda and Marek Štěpán in 1997. The studio's architecture and design projects combine contemporary principles with influences from the history of the Moravian region.
Previous projects by the firm include a cylindrical white church informed by Romanesque rotundas and another circular church building in Brno that is topped with a panoramic, rainbow-hued window.
The photography is by Filip Slapal.
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