House with a restoration studio
Žitavská pahorkatina, the floodplain of the Žitava river north of Vráble, between the villages of Nová Ves nad Žitavou and Tesárske Mlyňany with a well-known arboretum, is home to the village of Slepčany. In its southernmost extension, between the chapel by the main road, the Čerešňa stream, and a grove with massive ashes and willows, there is a small settlement - a "duplex" consisting of a residential house and a house with a studio for a family of young restorers. We designed it from two archetypal masses, each with a simple rectangular floor plan covered by a classic gable roof without overhangs. The studio house is oriented along its longitudinal axis parallel to the main road, and the residential house is positioned perpendicularly to it, thus parallel to the northern boundary of the plot.
The studio house creates a practical visual and noise barrier to the residential and recreational part of the beautiful 27-are plot that expands alongside the backdrop of majestic trees down to the stream on its western side. Logically and practically, the working part is placed in it, a restoration studio with direct access and entry from the street through a traditional two-winged gate, through which larger stone or wooden sculptures and architectural elements can be transported for restoration. Instead of a garage, a covered portico serves on the north side of the studio house, which also includes a personal entrance to the studio. Through the portico, there is a view of a "micro-square" in the intermediate space between both houses and the recessed entrance to the residential house.
As the main workspace – the workshop in the studio is an open space up to the roof structure. In the attic part of the workshop accessible via a single-arm staircase directly connected to the entrance from the portico, a gallery for smaller works is created with generous roof lighting, and in a separate part, a small visitor apartment with hygienic facilities, which currently serves as a graphic workspace and office. The staircase is illuminated and visually connected to the workshop through simple glazing in a slender wooden frame construction. The workshop is also well-lit and directly connected to the garden area by a glazed wall with doors in the western facade.
The residential house is oriented with its southern facade and recessed porch into the atrium and western gable into the garden and countryside. On the ground floor, connected to the porch, there is the parents' bedroom and a freely connected kitchen-dining and living space. The entrance vestibule and hallway with a wardrobe and hygienic facilities, a utility room, and a staircase, which is set deeper towards the center of the layout, are oriented to the north, creating a small covered patio with opportunities for storing firewood, drying laundry, and similar activities. The living space is open up to the roof structure. In the western gable wall, there is a slender vertical glazing for the full height of the space, which, along with the glazed walls of the porch, creates a pleasant atmosphere and contact with the garden and forest. From the staircase winding around the library set in the dining room, one ascends to the open gallery with a view into the elevated living space. The railing of the gallery and staircase is made from a transparent wooden shelving system with steel slats. In the eastern part of the attic, there is a two-space children's room and playroom, along with hygienic and technical facilities.
The interior features a simple tectonics and minimized material composition, consisting of a floor made of beautifully polished concrete screed, light wooden biodos, used in the partitions, interior doors, and built-in furniture with small witty details, and exposed cast-in-place concrete ceilings. A softening motif of the circle is pleasantly used in the glazings of solid wooden doors and orbs in the form of lights on colored curtains at various heights, which gives the spaces a certain relaxation and playfulness. This also reflects in the furniture with various recycled or creatively crafted pieces by the owners.
The facades feature ventilated cladding made from unplaned battens of red spruce in a dense vertical grid, combined with light plywood with birch veneer covering the areas under the studio portico, vestibule, northern patio, and porch. A pleasant visual perception is completed by a roofing of folded sheet metal in a gentle gray shade, including economical roofing details.
The exterior concept is free, with a strong landscape character. It includes areas for children's play and family activities, complemented by colorful flower beds and a cover for the well made of vertically positioned corrugated steel sheets set into the ground. In the forecourt of the house on the eastern side, a path and entry made from quarry gravel separate a longitudinal flower bed with grassy planting that transitions from the external open part of the plot through the line of fencing with a gate and a small gate made of gray corrugated sheet metal. The western, distinctly nature-oriented part of the garden consists of a meadow with a bio-pond and a root wastewater treatment plant.
In the design and realization of the entire building and interior, great emphasis was placed on the use of natural and recycled materials with the smallest environmental impact and the use of regional suppliers and resources. This approach is reflected in the building itself as well as in the furniture and interior, where recyclable materials such as wood, metal, glass, and concrete are used. Local clay from excavations was used for the core clay plasters. Thermal insulations are made from recyclables: in the roof structures, paper (blown insulation), the exterior walls are insulated with textile insulation. Cork is used in the composition of wooden floors, and hemp insulation is applied in the interior partitions.
The studio house creates a practical visual and noise barrier to the residential and recreational part of the beautiful 27-are plot that expands alongside the backdrop of majestic trees down to the stream on its western side. Logically and practically, the working part is placed in it, a restoration studio with direct access and entry from the street through a traditional two-winged gate, through which larger stone or wooden sculptures and architectural elements can be transported for restoration. Instead of a garage, a covered portico serves on the north side of the studio house, which also includes a personal entrance to the studio. Through the portico, there is a view of a "micro-square" in the intermediate space between both houses and the recessed entrance to the residential house.
As the main workspace – the workshop in the studio is an open space up to the roof structure. In the attic part of the workshop accessible via a single-arm staircase directly connected to the entrance from the portico, a gallery for smaller works is created with generous roof lighting, and in a separate part, a small visitor apartment with hygienic facilities, which currently serves as a graphic workspace and office. The staircase is illuminated and visually connected to the workshop through simple glazing in a slender wooden frame construction. The workshop is also well-lit and directly connected to the garden area by a glazed wall with doors in the western facade.
The residential house is oriented with its southern facade and recessed porch into the atrium and western gable into the garden and countryside. On the ground floor, connected to the porch, there is the parents' bedroom and a freely connected kitchen-dining and living space. The entrance vestibule and hallway with a wardrobe and hygienic facilities, a utility room, and a staircase, which is set deeper towards the center of the layout, are oriented to the north, creating a small covered patio with opportunities for storing firewood, drying laundry, and similar activities. The living space is open up to the roof structure. In the western gable wall, there is a slender vertical glazing for the full height of the space, which, along with the glazed walls of the porch, creates a pleasant atmosphere and contact with the garden and forest. From the staircase winding around the library set in the dining room, one ascends to the open gallery with a view into the elevated living space. The railing of the gallery and staircase is made from a transparent wooden shelving system with steel slats. In the eastern part of the attic, there is a two-space children's room and playroom, along with hygienic and technical facilities.
The interior features a simple tectonics and minimized material composition, consisting of a floor made of beautifully polished concrete screed, light wooden biodos, used in the partitions, interior doors, and built-in furniture with small witty details, and exposed cast-in-place concrete ceilings. A softening motif of the circle is pleasantly used in the glazings of solid wooden doors and orbs in the form of lights on colored curtains at various heights, which gives the spaces a certain relaxation and playfulness. This also reflects in the furniture with various recycled or creatively crafted pieces by the owners.
The facades feature ventilated cladding made from unplaned battens of red spruce in a dense vertical grid, combined with light plywood with birch veneer covering the areas under the studio portico, vestibule, northern patio, and porch. A pleasant visual perception is completed by a roofing of folded sheet metal in a gentle gray shade, including economical roofing details.
The exterior concept is free, with a strong landscape character. It includes areas for children's play and family activities, complemented by colorful flower beds and a cover for the well made of vertically positioned corrugated steel sheets set into the ground. In the forecourt of the house on the eastern side, a path and entry made from quarry gravel separate a longitudinal flower bed with grassy planting that transitions from the external open part of the plot through the line of fencing with a gate and a small gate made of gray corrugated sheet metal. The western, distinctly nature-oriented part of the garden consists of a meadow with a bio-pond and a root wastewater treatment plant.
In the design and realization of the entire building and interior, great emphasis was placed on the use of natural and recycled materials with the smallest environmental impact and the use of regional suppliers and resources. This approach is reflected in the building itself as well as in the furniture and interior, where recyclable materials such as wood, metal, glass, and concrete are used. Local clay from excavations was used for the core clay plasters. Thermal insulations are made from recyclables: in the roof structures, paper (blown insulation), the exterior walls are insulated with textile insulation. Cork is used in the composition of wooden floors, and hemp insulation is applied in the interior partitions.
Imrich Pleidel, Ondrej Pleidel
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