Since the second half of the 19th century, the original building of the Kesselbauer bakery has been one of the landmarks of Náměstí 1. Mája in Bratislava, Slovakia. The bakery even continued to operate for two decades after the second world war. When the bakery moved out, the building began to deteriorate. It ended up looking like a ruin.

But then the Proxenta financial group became the owner of the property and decided not only to build apartments on the site, but also to preserve at least part of the historic architecture. Part of the street facade is a replica of the original town house, which housed the town bakery. The reconstruction of the building was carried out under the supervision of the Department of Historical Monuments - not only the architectural style was preserved, but also the color scheme.

Nowadays, the "Rezidencia Kesselbauer" housing project includes 115 apartments and suites of various sizes on eight floors, almost all of which have a balcony, loggia or terrace. A park is integrated into the complex.

Historic facade insulated with Multipor

Multipor thermal insulation panels were used to preserve the historic facade while at the same time enabling modern living in this area. "In the period prior to the actual implementation, the investor and I looked into the possibility of implementing a historical facade with numerous Chambran elements, taking into account many aspects that had to be considered: the required thermal insulation properties, the strength of the overall composition of the facade and, last but not least, the fire resistance of the facade cladding,” explains Karol Baláž, Managing Director of ProPaint, s.r.o., which implemented the facade of the entire building. “As we had positive experience with the implementation of internal insulation in the previous period in the National Cultural Heritage Project - Jurkovičova Tepláreň for Penta, the solution with Multipor was also interesting for us," he continues.

The Multipor thermal insulation boards were also considered for their fire resistance, dimensional stability, vapor permeability and ease of application. They are often the material of choice, especially in historical construction or renovation projects. "After completion of the outer shell, there was a pause in construction, but in our production halls, our plasterers created cantilevered shutters using Multipor boards, which were later anchored to the finished facade. The next steps were to apply the finishing plaster and multiple facade coatings," says Karol Baláž.

He is particularly pleased that not only the Monument Office, the investors and the construction companies involved are satisfied with the result, but also the residents of Bratislava: "The positive reactions are also coming from the street."