Reconstruction of historic house situated in Banska Bystrica on main square. Target of this reconstruction is to offer an asthonishing range of gastronomic services made by local chef Peter Kulhány.
The intention of the current owner of the house, chef Peter Kulhány, is to build a complex gastronomic “heart” into this secesion shell. Cafeteria, pizzeria, bar, restaurant with daily fresh menu from locally sourced ingredience. As part of the interior design, the main aim is to restore internal surfaces to the extent to bring the house to his original historical context. We do not like to add any imitations, we rather prefer authenticity. Our design would like to show the whole range of vaults and decoration, throughout this object. We would love to reveal the historic values to the public, for example the original raw finish of the walls in the upper storeys as well as the cellar dungeon in the basement.
History of this middle age house, is set on the street under the number 12. Twelve means also a dozen or fullness, very distinctive for a restaurant. A small, one-storey gothic house was built in the corner of the main square. Undeveloped side of the building gradually became a backyard passage. Over centuries the house grew into hight and importance. The first owner of the house was Juraj Mitzko, a butcher, a miner, a copper merchant, a member of the city council and sadly an imposter with silver materials. Other owners were: Jozef Wagner, Alois Peierberger and Porges family, whose destinies were tied not only to the city but also to the world. Development of this building ended in the secession period, from which the building has a central staircase with a typical skylight and a street facade with stucco decoration worthy to be mentioned.
This house is a multi-storey object, with multiple ways how to approache it. Two interior and one cellar staircase, allow the user to explore great range of different rooms by just simply walking up and down. The main keystone to the openess of the interior is to create a large continuous corridor on the ground floor to smoothly guide into the staircase and then to different experiences on the upper floors. In our design we use three types of staircases. First one is located closest to the main square and it is facing the square. This first staircase is a new structure. It was made during the comunist era and we just added some “face lifting” to it. To make the appearance and functionality more suited for nowadays lifestyle. Second type of the staircase was already mentioned in the text above. It is a Art Nouveau staircase with a large skylight which reveals the changing cloud conditions around this beautiful mountain area. Last but not least it is the staircase used in the wine cellar. It is made entirely out of bricks and mortar and with little help from LED lighting it looks almost like from a sci – fi movie. :).
The entrance to the restaurant KUT 12 will be from a continuous corridor, on the ground floor. It connects the terrace on the square with the bar and kitchen and takes the visitor further into the depths of the building. The main hall on the groundfloor is connected to the breakfast bar. The bar will be, well visible from the square. It will serve beverages or breakfast. You can also sit directly in the window display area. Smiling customers in our windows will be a perfect KUT 12 brand. The large wooden bar will be connected with the staircase leading to the restaurant hall on the first floor. The staircase can also be used as an auditorium, provisional seating, stage, etc. This curved staircase takes you into the main room, where you will be served – dont worry, served with excellent food. It is the main hall for the à la carte restaurant with a visually open kitchen, which gives this room extra appeal. On this first floor you can also chill next to a fireplace or sit in a lounge room intented for group meetings or events.
Upstairs the range of gastro - functions will be supplemented with two congress halls. The second floor will have its own sanitary facilities and a cloakroom for the congress hall guests. This floor is loaded with a lot of KUT 12 staff facilities like laundry room, bolier room, administration. Mentioned facilities will complete the capacity of this floor. Attic has not been designed yet. It is considered to be a interesting resource for the future. To sum it up, the visuality of the interior design is based around the context of its history and with focus on simple modern interior elements. The original plaster and stucco decoration will be complemented by terrazzo floors, handmade cement and brick tiles and wooden decking. Furthermore, the furniture is a important element in the overall concept. It has to be contemporary but also comfortable solution for the whole object.
Another important feature is also the illumination. Proposed luminaires are hidden and their purpose is to illuminate vaults and walls. Other luminaires provide light necessary for tables, seatings, kitchens staff and so on. Probably the most important feature of lighting will be the selection of the right tonality in shades of warm color. The light scene of the restaurant will be complemented by stage lighting above the bar, lighting next to the decorative interior greenery and lighting above the open kitchen on the upper floor. It is also very necessary not to forget about the importance of lighting of the front secesion facade. This will give the whole reconstruction a final, professional touch.
Architects: Braňo Hovorka, Martin Paulíny, Natália Michalová
Colaboration: Marek Peťovský
Client: Smartfood s.r.o.
Location: Námestie SNP 12, Banská Bystrica
Design, project: 2017 - 2021
Construction: 2018 - 2022
Awards:
The bulding was awarded by Fénix - cultural monument of the year 2023.
We actually win in Praque`s international competition Interior of the year 2022 Public interior category I.
