The Brummel house Plzeň

Adolf Loos belonged among the most world-renowned architects of the beginning of the 20th century. Over the years, he lived and worked in Central and Western Europe - mainly in Vienna, but also in Paris, Brno, Prague, and Pilsen. Mr. and Mrs. Brummel were acquainted with Adolf Loos from Vienna. They also knew about the Hirsch family apartment, they liked it, and decided to ask Adolf Loos to rebuild a family house in Husova Street in a similar style. Adolf Loos accepted this job, and rebuilt the original one-storey house with a saddle roof and a historic front of the building, originally built by Eduard Kroha, the builder from Pilsen, in 1886.

In the house, which is open to visitors at present, the original bathroom was preserved. Ceramic tiles for the house were manufactured by Rakovník Factory in Horní Bříza, which specialised in the production of RAKO ceramic ware. White wall tiles with a size of 15 x 15 cm, with one or two angled edges, are complemented by a black and white listel, so typical for that era. Adolf Loos very carefully selected companies for co-operation, and quality was the main criterion of this selection. He selected both tradesmen (preferring local companies) and suppliers of interior equipment. Due to the lapse of time and historical changes in the second half of the last century, only a few companies have survived from that time which archived their records of products delivered to Adolf Loos, and were able to deliver identical replicas these days.

In the case of revitalization of the Jan and Jana Brummel interiors, the restorers could utilise the services of two existing companies: F.O. Schmidt from Vienna, which was the main supplier to Adolf Loos (in Husova Street, the company delivered mostly furniture, the fireplace, and wallpapers), and RAKO (now LASSELSBERGER) still manufacturing the RAKO brand ceramic tiles, which was able to manufacture the missing listels for the bathroom.