Zhouse

The concept and overall expression of a family house in the village of Dubová – district of Pezinok, enabled the creation of contemporary architecture with a solid foundation in tradition in connection with the traditional building in the back yard. The client’s request was a building that would fulfill the needs of a young family and at the same time be gentle on the surrounding landscape with a reference to local architecture. The slightly sloping plot of land is located at end of a dead-end street on the outskirts of the village of Dubová, near agrarian landscape of vineyards typical for this area. The traditional construction in the area is a longitudinal row of buildings on one side of the plot with the possibility of adding a covered entrance and creating a complete street view from one boundary of the plot to the other. This principle was used as a starting point for the design.

The mass of the family house with a combination of flat and gable roof is gently cut into the slope along with the carport. The north and east views appear compact and simple with a clearly visible onset of the mass of the house. The main entrance is from the north-west side of the dead-end street connected by a covered entrance and carport. The pedestrian entrance to the house is accentuated by upper lighting and a change of surface at the point of entry. It creates a smooth transition between interior and exterior together with the covered terrace on the south side. The covering protects the building from weather influences on the north-west side and on the south from overheating of the main part of the house in summer.

In terms of layout, the main part of the family house is an open space, which consists of an entrance area, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen and a work area in the loft. This space provides direct contact with the garden and enables its full use. The mass with the communal part is elevated by a loft office like the other parts of the house. The main part serves as a central point-intersection to which individual layout units (functions) are connected from northwest to southwest. Living rooms were classified based on the priority of direct contact with the exterior. The concept of a central point with the respective functions around its perimeter allows the minimization and integration of these functions into the main living space, the most important for the daily life of the family. This entire hierarchy is reflected in the very architecture of the building.

The material solution emphasizes the hierarchy of individual layout units. Wood, coarse-grained plaster drawn with a comb and fine plaster are tuned to light tones of gray. Rough and smooth surfaces alternate to help the shape of the building stand out. The scale of gray contrasts with the roofed exterior of the building, in which the basic building material- wood, appears in the form of CLT panels and glued prisms. As part of the ecological concept, the green roof ensures the thermal stability of the building, especially in the summer. A retention tank is designed for the collection and reuse of rainwater. Technologically, the building is supplemented with recuperation with a ground exchanger and screen shading for a stable microclimate.