Family house in Brno

The family house is designed for a family of three, and it also includes a separate small apartment - a studio for the parents and a sculptor's studio.
The building is located on the northwest slope of Kraví hora, with a view to the left of the Jundrov valley and to the right of the park on Kraví hora, in one of the prettiest spots of the Masaryk quarter. The plot, where the house once stood, is very small with a significant height difference, and the surrounding buildings literally touch it.
We like such plots where everything is practically predetermined. The size of the land and the surrounding houses, along with the necessary distances stipulated by building regulations, seem to shape the final solution. The immediate vicinity sends signals on how to move around the plot and curiously observes whether you understand its clues.
The building is positioned in the center of the plot. The main facade faces east towards Krondlovy Street and aligns with the building line established by neighboring houses.
The family house is a three-story building with one basement and two above-ground floors. The floors are offset by half a level in the west-east direction. From the exterior, the building consists of three basic cubic elements that are covered by a flat roof and rooftop gardens.
The main living and social part of the house is situated about 3 m above the level of today's pavement and is accessible via both an outdoor staircase and an internal staircase from the garage. The living space opens onto a raised gallery, which includes an office and a children's room with a bathroom and wardrobe; from the dining room on the main living floor, there is access down to the studio. On the second above-ground floor, in the quietest part of the house, the parents' bedroom is designed, also with a wardrobe and bathroom. In the partially submerged basement beneath the living area, there is a studio apartment for the parents with a separate entrance and a small terrace. The entrance to the garage is directly in the retaining wall at the border of the plot.
The roofs are accessible via outdoor staircases, allowing for views of the city skyline from the upper roof.
The architectural means are intentionally modest. The house appears to be carved from a single mass. The mass is mutually shifted, like a Rubik's cube, giving rise to separate wings of the house in the manner of raumplan. Finally, the house is painted terracotta, while the chosen mass, where the brush did not reach, remains white.
This basic composition of the main plastered masses of the house is complemented by the use of green glass in the cladding, in some window and door openings. The emphasis is placed on the mutual harmony of the various bodies of the house, the natural beauty of rational shapes, and the quality of both the whole and the details.