Maxim Guest House

A narrow vacant plot on Dlouhá Street prompted construction in the early 1990s. The space formerly used for the sale of Christmas and fruit trees was flanked by the House of Vegetables (1980), designed by the architect Šebestián Zelina, on one side, and commercial and residential buildings from the turn of the 1930s and 1940s on the other. The complicated trapezoidal plot of land with a depth of 34 metres, is 5.6 metres wide towards Dlouhá Street narrowing to only 2.6 metres in the inner block. In addition, the stairwell of the neighbouring house protrudes into the central section. 

 

Despite these inconsistencies, in 1992, the MAXIM Guest House was built here. In terms of shape, colour, and style, it is one of the most distinctive post-revolutionary constructions in the centre of the city. Its author is the architect Richard Turna, a graduate of the Brno University of Architecture, who worked at Stavoprojekt between 1989−1991 and in 1992 co-founded Ateliér 91, one of the first architectural offices in Zlín. 

 

The main expressive element of the six-storey building is its façade on Dlouhá Street. The building steps in front of the street line with a curve that emphasises the impression of structure pushing outwards from the constrained space. The dynamism of the façade is supported by the colour scheme of elements such as the blue sloping roof, the red jagged curve of the awning with the inscription MAXIM, and the yellow-red vertical wall creating a division with the department store. From the first floor up, the façade is covered by blue steel slats that serve as a solar barrier, a noise and optical screen, and a grid for climbing greenery. The shape of the roof reflects the ground plan of the plot; the windows copy the parabolic shape of the projecting façade - there is one five-part window on each floor, and the extreme part has a slanted shape. There was also a small outside seating area extending out into the street.

The building consists of two separate parts interconnected by outdoor footbridges on individual floors. Each part also has its own staircase connecting the individual floors. The interior spaces served as a travel agency with accommodation, a bar, and an office. The total capacity of the guesthouse was around 10-12 beds in seven rooms.

 

Architect Richard Turna also designed the interior of the bar on the first floor, which, like the façade, was characterised by variety of shapes, colours, and materials. The period photographs show furniture made of beech wood complemented by black plates and stainless steel triangular tiles. Wing fragments from an airplane were hung from the ceiling to show the dynamics of the narrow space. The rounded shape of the bar, the granite tiles on the walls, and the rounded door handles are clear examples of the aesthetics of the 1990s. The MAXIM house can also be associated with foreign design influences. However, the technical possibilities of post-revolutionary Czechoslovakia remained provisional. MAXIM Guest House remains an example of the architecture of the 1990s, striving to define itself in terms of form in contrast to the surrounding buildings. 

The original interior of the bar no longer exists; instead of a bar there is a fast food restaurant. The other floors are used (with some exceptions) as offices and as a travel agency. The contractor, who is still the owner of the house, continues to maintain the coloured surfaces of the individual elements of the façade.

 

 

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