Family house in Újezd nad Lesy
Open spaces with views, relaxation areas, and maximum connection between the interior and the garden are the main features of the house.
Comfortable modern villas are not a common construction product in our country; architects often find themselves working on small, the cheapest possible houses. The value of architecture is certainly not proportional to the size of the building; even a tiny family house can provide a high standard of living, entirely independently of the price of the materials used or the design of the interior furnishings. However, a professionally designed larger villa can be very inspiring for future builders, primarily as an example of good operational links. The architect can optimally address the kitchen, dining room, or bathrooms in terms of their function, not limited by excessive space-saving. Especially if the author does not focus only on the external appearance of the house, does not leave the furniture to "interior" architects, but understands the building as a whole, including the interior furnishings.
The work of Ivana Dombková stood out particularly for its distinctive approach to interiors, but it would be superficial to judge it solely on beautiful design. This is more of a "cherry on top" (clients can benefit from it based on years of developing their own furniture and its details); what is essential is the thoughtful solution of life within the house or apartment, always according to the client's needs and wishes. The floor plans of the implementations could serve as a textbook for housing typologies.
Relaxation not just in front of the TV
A city villa in one of the outskirts of Prague addresses comfortable living for a four-member family with a focus on relaxation functions. A large part of the house's social zone consists of a space with a sauna, a connected relaxation room, and a summer kitchen, all closely connected to the garden, where, in addition to a terrace shaded by a canopy, there is also a pool with a whirlpool. Relaxation is becoming a very pleasant part of the lifestyle for many families.
The own living room - elsewhere a huge room of representative character - is here nicely subdued to a "nook" of the main communication axis of the house, a simple corner with a library and comfortable seating by the television. It seems that much more important for this family is gathering around the dining table, which is the center of the entire ground floor. From it, there are views to both the northern side with mature greenery and into the southern garden; from the dining room, one exits to the terrace
with the pool, from here one can see every incoming guest to the house, while the pathway passes into the relaxation zone. Thus, the dining room with the adjacent kitchen occupies a significantly larger space than the living room, which also corresponds to the necessary spatial requirements for comfortable dining and the operation of the kitchen with the placement of all modern appliances.
(Few future builders realize in advance how much space a functional kitchen will take up; unfortunately, even development projects do not account for this. Planning the kitchen layout often becomes a significant disappointment for the owners.)
Life with the garden and in privacy
Open spaces with views and maximum connection between the interior and the garden were among the fundamental requirements of the clients. The entire ground floor - excluding the garage, technical and hygienic facilities - is a single flowing space that can be divided into three parts as needed using glass sliding walls: entry, living, and relaxation areas. Even when closed, they remain visually connected. From the entrance, there is a view along the main axis of the house ending with a glimpse into the garden; the living area has views on both sides of the garden. Thus, the home is not only made up of the house itself but also the land across the full extent of its boundaries.
Different requirements apply to the private rooms of family members, where pleasant views of the garden are accompanied by the need for intimate facilities. The bedroom floor is divided into two parts by a staircase hall, for parents and children. The parents' bedroom connects to a pass-through dressing room with access to the toilet; the bathroom is almost a direct part of the bedroom - separated by a glass wall. The children's rooms are accessed through a shared dressing room; the bathroom and toilet, on the other hand, are separate rooms so that the children can use them separately.
I consider leaving free space, natural lighting, and large shower cubicles as advantages in bathroom design. A problem in many bathrooms is the attempt to fit in as many fixtures as possible (corner bathtub and shower, toilet, bidet, washing machine), forgetting about space for people and the need to perform various movements while washing. For example, a shower measuring 80/80 cm with a rounded corner hinders raising one's arms; at least one longer dimension is essential.
Interiors as part of the building
Clients desired a modern, elegant house with simple lines, fully equipped
and built on modern technologies. This requirement is met not only by the overall concept and mass composition of the building, but also its execution down to every detail. Operationally, there is consideration for a laundry room with a chute for laundry from the children's dressing room or technical facilities that would otherwise complicate the function of the bathrooms. In every part of the house, there is sufficient storage space appropriately integrated into the walls so that protruding cabinets do not interfere in any way. Unlike many other houses, where spaces are "cleaned up" into shapely pleasant rooms but are subsequently scattered by furniture, here the furnishings were addressed as part of the design from the outset, and the spaces only gain geometrically clean shapes once furnished. The architectural solution is already adapted to the operations within the interior in advance. This principle contributes to the author's distinctive handwriting perhaps even more significantly than her own design style.
Based on the author's report, Věra Konečná
Comfortable modern villas are not a common construction product in our country; architects often find themselves working on small, the cheapest possible houses. The value of architecture is certainly not proportional to the size of the building; even a tiny family house can provide a high standard of living, entirely independently of the price of the materials used or the design of the interior furnishings. However, a professionally designed larger villa can be very inspiring for future builders, primarily as an example of good operational links. The architect can optimally address the kitchen, dining room, or bathrooms in terms of their function, not limited by excessive space-saving. Especially if the author does not focus only on the external appearance of the house, does not leave the furniture to "interior" architects, but understands the building as a whole, including the interior furnishings.
The work of Ivana Dombková stood out particularly for its distinctive approach to interiors, but it would be superficial to judge it solely on beautiful design. This is more of a "cherry on top" (clients can benefit from it based on years of developing their own furniture and its details); what is essential is the thoughtful solution of life within the house or apartment, always according to the client's needs and wishes. The floor plans of the implementations could serve as a textbook for housing typologies.
Relaxation not just in front of the TV
A city villa in one of the outskirts of Prague addresses comfortable living for a four-member family with a focus on relaxation functions. A large part of the house's social zone consists of a space with a sauna, a connected relaxation room, and a summer kitchen, all closely connected to the garden, where, in addition to a terrace shaded by a canopy, there is also a pool with a whirlpool. Relaxation is becoming a very pleasant part of the lifestyle for many families.
The own living room - elsewhere a huge room of representative character - is here nicely subdued to a "nook" of the main communication axis of the house, a simple corner with a library and comfortable seating by the television. It seems that much more important for this family is gathering around the dining table, which is the center of the entire ground floor. From it, there are views to both the northern side with mature greenery and into the southern garden; from the dining room, one exits to the terrace
with the pool, from here one can see every incoming guest to the house, while the pathway passes into the relaxation zone. Thus, the dining room with the adjacent kitchen occupies a significantly larger space than the living room, which also corresponds to the necessary spatial requirements for comfortable dining and the operation of the kitchen with the placement of all modern appliances.
(Few future builders realize in advance how much space a functional kitchen will take up; unfortunately, even development projects do not account for this. Planning the kitchen layout often becomes a significant disappointment for the owners.)
Life with the garden and in privacy
Open spaces with views and maximum connection between the interior and the garden were among the fundamental requirements of the clients. The entire ground floor - excluding the garage, technical and hygienic facilities - is a single flowing space that can be divided into three parts as needed using glass sliding walls: entry, living, and relaxation areas. Even when closed, they remain visually connected. From the entrance, there is a view along the main axis of the house ending with a glimpse into the garden; the living area has views on both sides of the garden. Thus, the home is not only made up of the house itself but also the land across the full extent of its boundaries.
Different requirements apply to the private rooms of family members, where pleasant views of the garden are accompanied by the need for intimate facilities. The bedroom floor is divided into two parts by a staircase hall, for parents and children. The parents' bedroom connects to a pass-through dressing room with access to the toilet; the bathroom is almost a direct part of the bedroom - separated by a glass wall. The children's rooms are accessed through a shared dressing room; the bathroom and toilet, on the other hand, are separate rooms so that the children can use them separately.
I consider leaving free space, natural lighting, and large shower cubicles as advantages in bathroom design. A problem in many bathrooms is the attempt to fit in as many fixtures as possible (corner bathtub and shower, toilet, bidet, washing machine), forgetting about space for people and the need to perform various movements while washing. For example, a shower measuring 80/80 cm with a rounded corner hinders raising one's arms; at least one longer dimension is essential.
Interiors as part of the building
Clients desired a modern, elegant house with simple lines, fully equipped
and built on modern technologies. This requirement is met not only by the overall concept and mass composition of the building, but also its execution down to every detail. Operationally, there is consideration for a laundry room with a chute for laundry from the children's dressing room or technical facilities that would otherwise complicate the function of the bathrooms. In every part of the house, there is sufficient storage space appropriately integrated into the walls so that protruding cabinets do not interfere in any way. Unlike many other houses, where spaces are "cleaned up" into shapely pleasant rooms but are subsequently scattered by furniture, here the furnishings were addressed as part of the design from the outset, and the spaces only gain geometrically clean shapes once furnished. The architectural solution is already adapted to the operations within the interior in advance. This principle contributes to the author's distinctive handwriting perhaps even more significantly than her own design style.
Based on the author's report, Věra Konečná
The English translation is powered by AI tool. Switch to Czech to view the original text source.
1 comment
add comment
Subject
Author
Date
dotažené
Pavel Hlavizna
26.02.15 08:28
show all comments
