Above-standard Koliba family house

Architecture

At the beginning, the investors asked us whether they could build a house on such a sloping plot with all the most important rooms of the day and night area on one floor, which would be accessible from the entrance to the plot without any barriers. In the context of these facts, we decided to reverse the usual logic in the design. Most contemporary houses are based on a direct connection between the garden and the interior of the day area. But at the same time, not all houses have such a beautiful view from the upper part of the plot, as our client's house will offer in the future.

Another, not so common request of the investors was to have an indoor swimming pool in the house. So we took advantage of this fact and designed a direct connection between the interior and the exterior for this space. In summer, the pool part will form a direct part of the garden through the large open sliding windows, and since it is an indoor pool, it will retain the possibility of year-round operation. An interesting feature of the pool area is its upper lighting with natural daylight, because there is a ceiling skylight located in its farthest part from the windows.

The entire main part of the house extends on the next floor – its day and night area divided into two wings connected in the shape of the letter "L". It is therefore located one level higher than the garden and offers exclusive views of the garden and the city from the side of the yard through large window panes. However, the house is relatively closed from the street, so as to provide the clients a sufficient sense of privacy. The lighting of this side of the house is ensured by means of a skylight above the kitchen and also a half atrium, which also becomes a visual benefit in the interior, namely in the space of the day area.

The facade from this street side is dynamized through the slanting of the wall of the half atrium. At the same time, the slanting copies the pedestrian line of the access path. When viewed from the street side, an interesting effect is created as the house appears as small and inconspicuous, materially decent object and its real size is visible especially from the garden side.

Layout

The day area combines the living, dining and kitchen areas into one space. From the dining room you can directly access the loggia, which serves as a breakfast terrace with a view of the garden. A distinctive element of this day area is a spacious furniture wall with a fireplace opposite the sofa, which also includes a TV set behind the opening door.

The second wing of the upper above-ground floor includes children's rooms, a bedroom, closets and bathrooms for children and parents, as well as a laundry room. In order for all these rooms to have daylight from the exterior, the given part of the house is designed as two-aisle building with a central corridor. The corridor is again illuminated by daylight through the ceiling skylights. All bedrooms have large windows that bring a lot of daylight into the rooms and seemingly bring the city view into the interior.

Connection with the exterior

The client's request, mentioned at the beginning, that the day and night area be on the same floor, directed us to the idea of leaving the space under the night area open, which created an interesting exterior zone. It will be roofed directly by the mass of the house and fulfill the function of an outdoor sheltered terrace, which will be used for garden parties. Directly in the mass of the house we also designed a construction niche for an exterior kitchen, which will be hidden behind sliding panels. In this way, a unique triangle of enjoyment spaces will be created on the plot – a sheltered terrace, a beautiful garden and an interior wellness area with an indoor pool, sauna and relaxation area.

Materials

In terms of materials, the house is designed relatively neutrally. The external wooden cladding is complemented by brick walls lined with white brick cladding, extensive glazed areas and exposed concrete on the horizontal slab and balcony structures. An interesting feature are also the embedded boxes for exterior greenery, which bring the garden to the next floor, closer to the main part of the interior of this family house.

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