Family house in Mníšek pod Brdy

When you look at the house from above or from the right angle from the garden, you can't help but feel that an elegant black steamship has just docked under the forest. The elongated one-story bulk resembles a deck, the subtle railing around the green roof evokes a ship's railing, and the upper cube has become a real captain's bridge. Right up there, with the best view of the entire garden, is where the home office, gaming den, and mini-cinema have found their place.

Designing a house with a strong character while being sensitive to its surroundings is always a challenge. For this project, we opted for minimalism and a play with contrasts. We used larch on the facade treated with a traditional wood burning technique. This coal-black textured "shell" protects the house beautifully from the whims of the weather and helps it blend naturally with the surrounding trees. But just step under the covered terrace, and the house will show you its other face – the ceilings have been left in a natural, warm wood tone.

At the heart of it all is a generous living room with a dining area and kitchen, dominated by an elegant black island. The ground floor wing stretches gently into the garden thanks to terraces on two sides: a covered west side and an open north side. When you look up from here, you will see spruce beams treated with a semi-transparent white glaze, which gives them lightness but still allows the natural grain of the wood to stand out. The space between them is filled with cement-bonded particle boards. A beautiful clean visual detail.

The owners themselves have imprinted many of their own ideas and unique solutions into the house. An example is the railings made of rebar, which weave through both the interior and exterior. This raw, constructional element in a subtle design perfectly fits the overall concept. Light birch plywood in the hallways and built-in furniture adds lightness to the space.

While from the living room, you can step barefoot directly into the grass on the ground floor, from the aforementioned captain's bridge with the office upstairs, you can walk straight out to the upper rooftop terrace. This is surrounded by an extensive green roof and offers views into the nearby forest. In the summer, the roof contributes to a more pleasant climate around the house.