November 5, 2025 | DESIGN & INTERIORS

a FUNCTIONALIST HOME

words Alp Tekin    

photos  Alex Shoots Buildings

In Prague’s New Town, architect Martin Cenek turns his own apartment into a meditation on form, function, and memory. The result is a space where modernist precision meets quiet, lived warmth.

In a late-1930s functionalist building in Prague’s New Town, architect Martin Cenek has transformed his own apartment into a quiet reflection on time, identity, and design. The 49-square-metre flat — both home and experiment — balances restoration with renewal.

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Cenek approached the project as both architect and inhabitant. Original windows, doors, and fittings were meticulously restored, while a raw concrete ceiling, once hidden under plaster, now anchors the living room with sculptural clarity. A new block of custom furniture in stained oak and white lacquer conceals the bathroom, kitchen, and storage — a minimalist gesture that shapes space without erasing history.

Every piece tells a story: Thonet chairs from his great-grandparents, a 1930s lamp from his great-uncle’s office, a rare tubular chair by Karel Ort, and a Nendo “Fusion” sofa coexist naturally, joined by a pink piglet stool — a humorous gift that softens the discipline of the space.

Cenek calls the renovation an exercise in coexistence: between past and present, precision and play. The result is a home that feels deeply personal yet profoundly architectural — a modest ode to Prague’s modernist spirit.