It isn't very common to come across a home that's stood since the Renaissance, but that's exactly what the architects at ORA found when they were hired to reshape the interior of a Czech Republic address into a guest house.
At first, they noticed its many "scars" from countless past renovations, and decided that they couldn't touch the residence's hard-earned place in history. Still, modern details had to be put into place, so they started removing layers from the walls. And as each one was removed, their plans continued to change. "The more individual layers, spaces, and surprising circumstances were uncovered, the more revisions and alterations we had to make in our project," architect Jan Hora said. "In the beginning, we did not have a clue where we would come to in the end."
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It wasn't long before the firm realized they would have to work with the exterior to shape the property into a cohesive space. They made a private flat for the owner, including a custom-made glass rack in the kitchen, and refurbished the original wine cellar in the basement. And when the work was done, the team realized a plan that was as much about preserving the past as it was about shaping the future.
