Vila Lýdia

"Sometimes people confuse our family houses with garages, boiler rooms, grocery stores, and most recently with dairies, but I have already gotten used to it. I hope they will get used to it as well.,"

LOCATION
Villa Lýdia is located in the outskirts of Prešov, in Šidlovci, on a southern slope with a panoramic view of the city. The area is currently undergoing intense construction of family houses; with an architectural expression that unfortunately predominates today (dormers, mansards, a played-out roof landscape). And it is here that Villa Lýdia appears as a revelation - a simple blue prism, placed, or rather slightly pressed into the terrain under the forest. Many passersby reportedly considered it a grocery store catering to the needs of residents of the surrounding haciendas or a double garage belonging to the nearest neighbor.

HOUSE
But it is a real family house with everything that goes with it. It is two stories high, and after passing a 60-meter long pathway (perspectively lined with artifacts from friends - sculptors), which leads visitors from the entrance to the property, one enters the upper floor. Here, instead of the expected entrance hall, there is a glazed winter garden with a whirlpool, alongside a separate dressing room. Sliding doors separate this oasis of relaxation, utilizing the western sun, from the living area, which includes a kitchen, dining room, and living room. Initially, this space is narrowed by a separate spacious bathroom, but then it expands to the entire six-meter width of the house. Its longitudinal character is significantly enhanced by simple furnishings as well as linear neon lighting. From the left side of the living room, a simple single-sided steel staircase leads to the lower floor with a children's room, playroom, bedroom, and bathroom with a sauna.
From the playroom, there is direct access to a terrain terrace, which connects to the upper living space through a steel stairway. From the outside, the house attracts attention not only with its shape but also with the gray-blue color of the plaster, which harmonizes nicely with the wooden window frames, the silver stairs, and the corrugated metal - the cladding of the projecting walls connecting the interior with the exterior. An interesting detail is a sliding panel made of blue Lexan, which shades the large window from the living space on the southern facade if needed. The same material appears in the form of a small awning above the entrance.
Villa Lýdia is an excellent example of a family house designed by an architect for himself and his family, one that clearly documents the author's architectural opinion while simultaneously fulfilling his ideas about his own living space.