Inside Fellows with Lukáš Cafourek
What do people actually expect from a rental home today?
Is it enough to have a good location, a nice kitchen and four walls to come home to? Or are renters starting to look for something more – flexibility, reliable service, quality and the feeling that someone is taking care of the place alongside them?
We explored these questions in the latest episode of Spolu v prostoru, the Foreigners podcast about architecture, development and the places we live in.
Our guest was Lukáš Cafourek from Urbanon, who has been closely involved in the development of Fellows Jaselská.
From a graphic studio to real estate
Lukáš’s path to real estate development wasn’t exactly a straight line.
He studied graphic design and multimedia at Masaryk University and later founded his own design and marketing company, Porta Design. Over time, however, his interest shifted from things you can see on a screen to things you can actually walk into.
As he puts it, he has always liked beautiful things, but eventually became more interested in architecture and the physical spaces around us.
Today, he is focused on Fellows and other projects under Urbanon.
And that background helps explain one of the recurring themes of our conversation: Fellows is not just about building an apartment building. It is about creating a place where people actually want to live.
Rental housing is becoming more than an apartment
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation was about the direction rental housing is taking.
Traditional renting often comes down to a simple transaction: you find an apartment, sign a contract, pay the rent and deal with everything else yourself.
But professionally managed rental housing can work differently.
At Fellows, the apartment comes with a wider service around it: reception, parcel collection, maintenance, underground parking and shared spaces such as the lounge, coworking area and cinema room.
The idea is simple: if you are paying for your home, you should also get a level of service that makes everyday life easier.
Lukáš sees this as part of a broader change in the rental market. Instead of simply paying for square metres, tenants are increasingly paying for the overall experience of living somewhere.
That includes the apartment itself, but also the reliability, service and environment around it.
Why would someone rent when they could buy?
This question came up in the conversation too.
For some people, renting is no longer simply a temporary stage before buying a property. A well-managed rental can offer something that ownership does not always provide as easily: flexibility and freedom from many of the responsibilities that come with owning a home.
Lukáš shared an example of a prospective tenant who could have bought an apartment but chose Fellows instead.
What mattered was not simply the size or price of the apartment. It was the overall concept and the confidence that, if they wanted to stay for several years, they could.
That kind of predictability is part of what professionally managed rental housing can offer.
Why Fellows is on Jaselská
Location is another big part of the Fellows story.
Jaselská is an unusual place in Brno: a quiet street in the centre, next to a large green area and within walking distance of the university, city centre, cafés and restaurants.
For Lukáš, it was important that the project respected the quality of the location.
He describes Jaselská as a genuinely exceptional site — one that deserved more than a generic development designed simply to maximise every possible square metre.
That philosophy influenced the project itself.
The result is a building that combines a contemporary approach to rental housing with a strong connection to its surroundings.
Why not just build another generic development?
A project can always be designed to squeeze the maximum possible amount of usable space out of a site. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it will create a better place to live or a better building for the city.
With Fellows, the ambition was different.
The goal was to create something that would still work well years from now, rather than focusing only on the immediate return of the project.
That thinking can be seen in the details: the generous common areas, the quality of the interiors, the services available to residents and the way the building connects with its location.
Who is Fellows actually for?
Fellows was originally conceived as a modern form of rental housing for a broad mix of residents. Not only students, but also young professionals, academics, expats and others looking for a well-located, fully equipped home in Brno.
That mix is part of what makes the concept interesting.
It sits somewhere between a traditional apartment building and a hotel: your own private home, with services that make everyday life easier.
And perhaps that is where rental housing is heading, towards a model where the apartment is only one part of what you are actually renting.
A different idea of value
The conversation with Lukáš also raises a bigger question about what we consider valuable in a home.
Is it the number of square metres? The address? The furniture? The services?
Or simply knowing that when something goes wrong, someone will take care of it?
There probably isn’t one answer.
But Fellows suggests that the value of a rental home can be about much more than the apartment itself.
It can be about time, convenience, reliability and the quality of everyday life.
And that may be one of the most interesting changes happening in rental housing in Brno.
Watch the full conversation
Want to hear the story directly from the person behind the project?
Watch our conversation with Lukáš Cafourek from Urbanon in the latest episode of Spolu v prostoru.
The episode is in Czech with English subtitles.
Watch the full episode on YouTube →
Designed for real life
The apartment brings together a comfortable living space, a fully equipped kitchen and a separate bedroom, giving you enough space to relax, work, cook and switch off at the end of the day.
The interiors were designed by Czech studio Holky rády architekturu, with a focus on making each apartment feel warm, practical and genuinely liveable.
No empty rooms waiting for furniture. No weekend spent assembling wardrobes. No wondering where to put the washing machine.
Just bring your things and move in.
Your own space, without the hassle
A one-bedroom apartment is a great fit if you want a little more privacy and separation than a studio can offer.
Keep the bedroom for sleeping. Use the living room for everything else – morning coffee, working from home, dinner with friends, or simply stretching out on the sofa after a long day.
The kitchen is fully equipped, and you also have your own washing machine and dryer right in the apartment.
More than just an apartment
At Fellows, your apartment is just one part of the experience.
There’s a reception for everyday help and parcel collection, a handyman for those small things that inevitably need fixing, underground parking, a lounge, coworking space and a cinema room.
You’ll also find a café, grocery store, barber and fitness centre right in the building.
In other words, you get the privacy of your own home with a little extra support when you need it.
Take a look inside
Our new photos give you a closer look at the one-bedroom apartments at Fellows – from the living room and kitchen to the bedroom and all the details in between.
If you’re looking for a fully furnished home in central Brno, with thoughtful design and the comfort of serviced living, take a look at Fellows Jaselská.
Your new home might be closer than you think.
