'This project was a real reward for us,' begins Prokop Tomásek, one of the three founders of Czech prolific architecture firm a69. 'We have run our office for 22 years and few projects were as pleasant to work on as this house.'
The Prague-based studio made its name through with a number of progressive – even at times unorthodox – residential designs, which comes as no surprise when once considers the venue of their latest venture: a former granite quarry in central Bohemia.
Sat on the edge of a rock above a small pond in a verdant area, the house was originally commissioned as a family holiday retreat, but the beauty of the landscape and the final product impressed the client's family so that they decided to make it their permanent home. They now live in the lush forest, growing their own vegetable in a nearby greenhouse and regularly inviting guests for camping trips and hosting local fishermen as they try their luck in the pond.
The building is simple; a fairly straightforward black, wooden box. 'The house sits on 16 big dolmen-like granite stones we have found in the quarry and seems to levitate on the edge of the hill,' says the architect. The steel structure is covered by a wooden perforated grill made of standard spruce laths creating large window openings on the each side of the house. The modest timber facade contrasts the more fluid, white interior.
Three curved plasterboard walls divide up the space creating a flowing, relatively open plan interior. Big windows direct the eye out onto the landscape. 'We designed the interior as an amorphous space with the possibility to admire the natural surroundings from different angles. We chose white as a neutral background for the ever-changing views of the colourful landscape,' says Tomásek.
This visual connection between inside and outside is highlighted in the lounge, where a sunken glossy concrete floor is furnished with just a few pieces of furniture and a built-in kitchen. At the same time, bedrooms and secondary service areas are discretely tucked away behind the walls on the property’s edges.
’The house sits on 16 big dolmen-like granite stones we have found in the quarry and seems to levitate on the edge of the hill,’ says the architect
The steel structure is covered by a wooden perforated grill made of standard spruce laths creating large window openings on the each side of the house
A sliding glass wall creates a seamless link between the living area, the outdoor terrace and the natural world beyond
The interior fits within a simple 15m x 15m x 4m cubic mass and is predominantly white, contrasting the dark exterior and the greenery around it
INFORMATION
For more information visit the A69 website
Photography: Tomáš Rasl
-
A revamped Edinburgh apartment combines Californian-style modernism with modern craftArcher + Braun have transformed an apartment in a historic house with finely tuned contemporary additions and sympathetic attention to detail
-
Formafantasma’s biodiversity-boosting installation in a Perrier Jouët vineyard is cross-pollination at its bestFormafantasma and Perrier Jouët unveil the first project in their ‘Cohabitare’ initiative, ‘not only a work of art but also a contribution to the ecosystem’
-
Gingerbread City: architects sculpt London out of the season's favourite treatUntil December 29 in Chelsea, see London brought to life in a seasonal-appropriate medium by leading architects and designers
-
Tour this Estonian tiny home with big ambitionsÖÖD Golden House, a new Estonian cabin concept, promises to offer a compact design for small and perfectly formed escapes
-
A new village chapel in the Czech Republic is rich in material and visual symbolismStudio RCNKSK has completed a new chapel - the decade-long project of Our Lady of Sorrows in Nesvačilka, South Moravia
-
A garden pavilion in Prague becomes the ideal domestic retreatBYRÓ Architekti built this garden pavilion as a functional cabin for a green-thumbed client, creating a beautifully composed minimalist shelter
-
The heat is on: mobile sauna heralds a new breed of experimental hot boxesEmma O’Kelly explores the emerging world of mobile sauna design in Germany, Norway and the UK, where new design approaches are taking this ancient practice into the modern era
-
Huge Czech grain silo conversion has restoration, intervention and celebration at its heartGrain silo conversion Automatic Mills is a new cultural heart for the city of Pardubice by Prokš Přikryl architekti, and a skilful transformation of an important industrial building
-
A Czech family house is enhanced by bespoke design and furnitureAoc Architekti has shaped a modern Czech family house around large windows and terraces to make the most of its hillside suburban site
-
MOCA is a self-sufficient mobile home offering freedom to work (and roam)MOCA (Mobile Catalyst) is a sustainable mobile home designed by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, and taking remote working to a new level
-
A nest house in the Netherlands immerses residents in natureBuitenverblijf Nest house by i29 offers a bird-inspired forest folly for romantic woodland escapes in the Netherlands
