A plot on the outskirts of Karlovy Vary. An intact, non-contrasting approach to understanding the context and tradition of the place. In this sense, "place" is understood as both the broader surroundings – the spa – and the actual plot – a romantic garden, family villas, a gardeners’ colony, panel buildings, a forest park, garages.
The house sits on a small plot in a relatively busy location. A busy road and a popular walking route uphill to the forest park. It was essential to design the house to have a different perception from various distances.
The rear facade of the house (i.e., the northern side) is the main face, which we referred to as the "forgotten" facade. The whole is hinted at behind a grid of birches, which have been perceived from the beginning as part of the facade. While walking, one can discover individual details as they gradually shine through the birches. At the same time, the whole volume of the building is seen and understood behind the sparse birches. The image is an analogy to the overgrown monumental romantic spa villas. A favored theme of Trnka's Garden: poetic adventure behind the wall. The bending of the facade hidden behind trees associates the growth of the object in the place, randomness.
In contrast, the garden facade (i.e., the southern side) is divided into two parts by an island of trees. It was referred to at work as the "porch." From the south, the distance from which passersby observe the house is significant. The porch is not meant to be perceived and understood from the outside; it is a private, intimate part of the house. It is intensely inhabited. From the south, the house is meant to be perceived as a peripheral cottage. Part of the gardeners' colony.
The elongated prism of the house is placed as close as possible to the northern boundary of the plot. To the north is also the best view – into the valley of the town and further towards the Ore Mountains. However, it was not possible to open the house in that direction. The plot neighbors a busy road. Thus, the house serves as a barrier protecting the southern garden from noise. The breakthrough of a large window in the northern facade (and the roof of the house) means daily contact – a view (each time I go down the stairs… etc.). At the same time, zenithal light pours through the window into the living space on the ground floor of the house. A similar task has the semi-circular window in the older part of the house. The idea was: when I go down the stairs, I can rest by the window…
Just as the sharp red color on the northern facade served to perceive the entire volume of the building behind the birches, so from the south, the red color is in dialogue with the gardeners' colony. Do it yourself. Blue, green, brown…
The house is two-generational. The younger generation is 50+, the older 80+ (this year Mr. Růžička celebrates his ninetieth birthday). "Two-generational house" is not entirely accurate as part of the assignment was also housing for the 30+ generation, which includes three of the Růžiček children, along with their partners and children. This 30+ housing is not permanent, but the assignment was: to allow them to come anytime and have their own room. Which is indeed happening. It is not unusual for the house to be inhabited as a four-generational home. This is better seen from the floor plans. The longitudinal two-wing layout provides shielding of the residential areas on the ground floor from the busy road. The northern wing contains service areas (storages, bathrooms, stairways, and hallways), while all the living rooms are in the southern wing. The building is transversely divided into two residential units, with a shared passage entrance space.
The structure of the house is brick with ceramic ceilings. The house is not basement, with a flat bitumen roof. The total length of the building is 25.7 m, width is 6.25 m, and the height of the cornice at its highest point above the ground is 7.35 m.
We offered the client a meticulously planned interior layout of the house down to the centimeters, but we did not propose the aesthetics of the interiors and surfaces. In this particular case, we felt the architect's intervention was inappropriate. We anticipated the client would inhabit and complete the house. And that is indeed what happened.
A chapter in itself is the garden of the house. The design and construction process were subject to the inviolability of the garden. Thus, it was not only about "leaving the mature valuable greenery," but above all, respecting the spontaneous greenery and all the bizarre and cozy nooks of the garden. During construction, naturally, the harvest of plums was collected. After the completion of the construction, the gnome was relocated, and a few other changes were made. During a two-day photo shoot, I enjoyed coffee and cigarettes in several corners of the garden, where chairs and tables are scattered. The experience is a professional bonus that is not forgotten.