Family House Jizera Mountains

This house draws its basic mass from the original architecture of simple, rectangular cottages with gable roofs, which are spread everywhere in parallel with the terrain contours and adjacent mountain roads. Another local phenomenon is the combination of a stone base and a wooden upper structure. These two elements seem to have no connection with each other in most traditional buildings; they simply "carelessly" lie on top of one another. In this house, the upper wooden block significantly overhangs the lower stone base, as if it had been shifted by an avalanche, for example.
The plot opens to the west with panoramic views across the valley. The northwestern border of the plot is formed by the local road, from which one descends for parking by the house. The entire plot is relatively rocky, and in the southwest corner, there is a prominent rock formation that also offers a beautiful view of the wide surroundings. Several smaller boulders are naturally "scattered" freely across the plot.

On the ground floor of the house, there is a necessary entrance vestibule protected from the elements, leading to an unheated storage space, a hallway, a toilet, a smaller kitchen, and a variably divisible living area connected to a covered terrace, which can be closed off with large shutters as desired, providing basic comfort even in winter.
From the main living area, an economical staircase leads either down to the technical basement or up to the attic, where there are three rooms and a bathroom.

The facade of the house consists of vertically laid larch boards that have remained untreated and are allowed to age naturally. The window frames, shading technology, and folded sheet metal roof are in an anthracite color. The base of the building is clad on the outside with local stone. As an addition, white shutters with cement-bonded board cladding are proposed. We aimed to connect with traditional timber houses by choosing this color scheme, where black (or dark gray), white, and locally available stone were often naturally combined. The house thus acquired a kind of mimicry that placed it in its surroundings.

The interior extensively uses wood in various forms and surface finishes. Large areas of sliding and fixed walls are made of spruce plywood. The floor in the main living area is composed of brushed oak planks. Along the panoramic window in the interior, we placed a continuous bench that extends to the covered terrace. The heart of the house and the main living room is the fireplace, which warms not only the ground floor but also the attic.