Two Family Houses in Liboc
family house
project detail
On the outside we are all the same, the interesting things are hidden inside.
(A seemingly banal couple begins to reveal their secrets upon closer acquaintance)
Two plots on the edge of two worlds.
History - present
closedness - openness
city - landscape
On the first plot there is a house. The mighty beech trees of the game preserve lean over the romantic cottage and the yard with a flurry of barns and sheds. The house has a gabled roof that is glued directly to the wall of the preserve. It is the contact of the house with the preserve wall that becomes the main motif of the design. The complicated gluing raises structural, property and technological concerns. After consultation with the Department of Historic Preservation, it seems ideal to tear down the existing mass, clean the base of the wall and the existing rock. The unhealthy damp adhesive disappears, and an independent relationship is established. The main mass is supplemented by an extension to create a new intimate courtyard (atrium), this will aerate the whole composition and allow light to enter from the south side. The rock wall of the preserve becomes an exhibit that you observe from inside the house. The extension perforates the main mass and opens it to the west towards the valley of the Litovický brook. The building respects the original figure. It remains in its archetypal simplicity, with only the extension carving out the courtyards in a simple curve. The green roof of the extension refers to the present condition of the small canopies with the infestation of greenery and moss. The second plot is closely adjacent to the first house.
Historically it was built up. The house is already shown on maps from 1844. It was later demolished. Today it is used as a garden. The setting of the new house refers to the original footprint. The ridge is parallel to the street. The form is simple and clean - a rectangular plan with a subtle overhang of a gabled roof. The repeated archetypal form with subtle nuances relates to its neighbour closer to the preserve wall. The simple form, however, deceives the body. Inside we find an organically shaped elevated central space. It vertically cuts through the house throughout its height. It supplies the house with sunlight from the east and southeast. It directs the energy of the whole house westwards into the orchard and the valley of the Litovice stream. The central space expresses togetherness and is the focal point of life. On the other hand, the individual rooms around the perimeter of the centre create privacy. From the main space, one can peer into the rooms through the inner façade or turn away and watch the action outside.