Czech Firm OV-A Incorporates Cozy and Modern Elements in Apart-Hotel Svatý Vavrinec
The picturesque base of Snežka mountain, rising in the northern Czech Republic‘s Krkonoše range, first served as a mining center more than 500 years ago. Today, the base town of Pec pod Snežka is better known as one of Europe’s premier ski destinations—a reputation newly reinforced with the arrival of Prague firm OV Architekti’s 114,000-square-foot Apart-hotel Svatý Vavrinec.
Principal architect Jirí Opocenský and the OV-A team first created a commercial parterre with stone cladding, covered by an Optigrün green roof with slanted planes of retaining ribs, for a supermarket, sports good store, and ski and bike shop. Four apartment towers rise above it, each of reinforced concrete and, on upper levels, brick with concrete ceilings.
Interiors of the 90 apartments incorporate four themes, says Opocenský. The “Glamour” style features oak, gold embroidery, and delicate ornaments, while lighter “Scandavia” offers whitened spruce, dark blue textiles, and even a reindeer theme in the bathroom. “Modern” rooms take on mid-century simplicity, and “Krkonoše,” named for the local mountain range, sets a traditional Giant Mountain chair within pine interiors—the cosiest space imaginable after a long day riding the cable car up the namesake mountain and skiing all the way back down.
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