Palmovka

 
In addition to silver mining and a well-developed cloth weaving industry, glassmaking was also typical of the Jihlava region. The woody hills of the Highlands provided ample firewood and minerals, including pure quartz for glass production and processing. The first glassworks was established here as early as the beginning of the 17th century, and glass production peaked with the arrival of glassmaking families from Austria and Pošumaví at the beginning of the 18th century. For example, the first now world-renowned Czech crystal was made by Anton Müller in the Božejov glassworks. Approximately twelve other glassworks operated in the area. After large-scale tree felling in 1740 and with an abundance of wood for heating, the number of newly established mills increased even more. In addition to the glassworks, there was also a large number of glass cutting plants in the region. Records mention as many as 24 establishments, but some were very small and only operated for a short while. Various merchants took finished cut products from the mills and distributed them. Most often these were bottles, jars, and goblets, as well as beads of various sizes and types, called “páteřík” beads (from the Latin pater noster) for making rosaries.

One of the intermediaries in the glass trade was the entrepreneur Berthold Palme (1879–1961), born in Úsobí, who purchased cut glass from these small glassworks. He then placed his logo with the image of a palm tree on the products and resold them under his own name. Palme's family probably also owned the Vilém's glassworks located close to Vilémovské Chaloupky near Smrčná.

Berthold Palme was looking for suitable premises for his expanding business. He found it in the Brtnické suburb, south of the city centre, where he chose a building designed by Arthur Corazza, a prominent Jihlava builder behind buildings such as the savings bank building at Křížová Street 1, the printing house with an Art Nouveau façade at Srázná Street 17, and the residential building at Jirásková Street 7.

Josef Nägele, the owner of a hair processing factory, had had the factory, which Palme bought in 1919, built together with his own villa between 1912 and 1913. Palme set up a new glass cutting and porcelain painting shop in the ground floor wing. He hired a glass cutter and took on several new apprentices. He eventually employed around seventy people. Palme sent his son out into the world to study foreign trade. In the workshops of the newly furnished glass cutting plant, crystal was cut and painted, and ashtrays, vases, inkwells, liqueur sets, and other decorative and practical glassware were produced. The products with the palm tree emblem began to be exported around the world, and were soon considered prized glass products and a sought-after trophy for art collectors. Today, some of these products can be found, for example, in the glass collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and in many other collections.

Palme operated the glass cutting plant until 1941. The war and the new post-war situation changed everything. A year after the liberation, the glass cutting plant became part of the national Glassworks Enterprise Sklárny Inwald, Teplice-Šanov. In 1949, it became part of the Dobronín Glassworks. Three years later, the operation was completely transferred to Dobronín and the complex with the villa and the former glass cutting plant were used by the national enterprise Jihlavan (from 1958 n. p. Technometra, now Jihlavan again) for the production of hydraulic systems for Zetor Super tractors and later for aircraft, which continues to this day. The establishment was used as a warehouse and the villa fell into disrepair. It was not until 2012 that a new owner took over the complex and, in cooperation with the Liberec studio Mjölk architects (Mjölk architekti), started the process of remodelling. The result is a very successful renovation that respects Corazza's ingenuity, while making its presence felt in a modern and sensitive way. The new facilities were created to meet the needs of the owner's company and included offices, presentation, production, and storage areas as well as space for relaxation. In the process, the original structures were partially exposed, the loft space was opened up and renovated, and the wooden passage door was replaced by a large glass shop window with the owner's wife's small business behind it.

The building is accessed via a side footbridge. An access ramp once led underneath, which is now planted with wild grasses. Visitors are welcomed by a pleasant entrance hall with a piano and an art installation by the contemporary visual artist Richard Loskot, visually divided into three parts – a reception area, a meeting area, and a relaxation area. A staircase with its original elements leads from the hall to the first floor. Here, the removal of the partitions created an open work space with access to the outdoor covered terrace. There are also toilets and a kitchenette. Through the offices, it is possible to enter the attic via another staircase.

The appealing interior was partly created by using the original equipment. New furniture was custom-designed from the old wooden floor planks, the cast-iron columns supporting the concrete ceiling of the hall were cleaned and preserved, the space is complemented by refurbished industrial lamps, mobile cast-iron serving carts transformed into side tables, and the external entrance is illuminated by lamps made from old company radio loudspeakers. The original steel structure and concrete roof can be found in the warehouse building, which was restored in 2019The entire space is illuminated around the perimeter by a strip of hollow glass bricks and the hall and the facilities are complemented by replicated or original elements.

Moreover, the whole conversion was done in a very short time. It only took 104 weeks from the first meeting on the project to the handover of the building and the official approval for use. The Mjölk architects studio had only 12 months to complete the job from the time the building permit was issued. In 2017, this very successful achievement won the Czech Architecture Award.

MP
Literature and other sources 

Next buildings on the trail