Zen-Houses - Atelier and House

Liberec is renowned as the night watch of the republic. The local settlement of Jizerka is also vying with the Šumava village of Kvilda for the title of the coldest place in Bohemia. In this context, the Liberec district of Ruprechtice at the foot of the Jizera Mountains resembles more of an oasis. Smog rolls in the city, while on the upper southern slopes, known as the Sun Baths, there is a completely different climate: clean air and tranquility. This fact is naturally acknowledged by all Liberec residents, which is reflected in the prices of local land. The plot acquired by architect Petr Stolín ultimately turned out to be more expensive than the resulting houses. However, he did not rush the realization. He left the plot idle for a long five years and created variations in his office in the "steamboat" Ermeg.
An architect's own house always has a more interesting story than when he designs for a specific client, where the needs of the client must be reflected as best as possible. In this case, the architect designed a house for himself, giving him completely free rein to faithfully materialize his ideas about individual living, reflecting three decades of his professional career.
The Czech audience views panel systems with distrust, a sentiment earned due to the poor-quality panel construction after World War II. Those who can today leave concrete towers and move into catalog-prefabricated homes in satellite housing, which usually does not improve their situation. However, the idea of a panel single-family house holds enormous potential, which Petr Stolín decided to explore when he was approached by K-Kontrol, a company manufacturing wooden panels (SIP – structural insulated panels), from which most people build their dream homes in suburbs. Due to impractical layouts and other unnecessary factors, the panels often have to be cut, creating an excessive amount of waste and unnecessarily increasing the overall cost of construction. Therefore, the architect decided to work directly with manufacturing dimensions of 125 x 300 cm or 125 x 500 cm, from which he was able to create a series of five model houses without any cuts. The wooden sandwich building kit can be used in countless variations and can meet any client's demands.
In spring 2011, a devastating tsunami hit Japan, and this prefabricated system seemed to be a suitable (not only in terms of appearance but also price, transportation, and assembly) solution to the urgent need for rapid minimal housing. The gift to the Japanese inhabitants could not ultimately be realized, and so the first two experimental houses were built in the Jizers on the architect's own expenses. Since this was an experiment, no one could be sure if this form could actually be inhabited. Neither could the authors themselves, who ultimately decided to test the house personally so that they would not recommend a cat in a bag to anyone. After all, inside the house, you gain a bright width of 258 cm, which dangerously approaches Le Corbusier's modulor and his cells for monks.
The rough construction of the wooden panels was completed swiftly by four people within five days. Both houses were placed on thin concrete piles. The remaining work was finished by the architect with his friends in their free time over the course of the following year. Most of the work should be manageable by anyone on their own without the need for heavy machinery (which was only required when installing large window panes). The goal was to achieve prefabrication, repetition, simplification of construction, and cost reduction. In exaggeration, the aim was to create an 'IKEA House' with simple instructions that any moderately skilled DIY enthusiast could build themselves.
Another major experiment was the outer shell made of fiberglass, a construction material that also dictates the final appearance of the house. In addition to the effort to reduce the cost of the house, the material offers a diffused transparency, resulting in the impression of rice paper. Moreover, it creates a necessary windbreak in Liberec, protecting the house from the whims of the weather. The house's second skin, set twelve centimeters in front of the actual house, has a life of its own. In summer, it prevents overheating, while in winter it creates a buffer zone against cold winds. In the morning, the facade reflects sunlight or, conversely, can illuminate itself.
After the construction and material revolution, a new concept of internal layout also had to come into play. The unusual proportions of the house built vertically did not allow for anything else. The original intent was to strictly separate life and work, which, however, is never feasible when you do things wholeheartedly. Each of the houses offers just under sixty square meters of floor space, which is the size of a 2+kk apartment. While from the outside both blocks appear almost identical, inside they differ dramatically. The white-painted interior provides a neutral background for work. The black-painted space of the second house serves for living. Under the same conditions, you feel warmer in the black cube. The matte black also blurs the boundaries between the floor, ceiling, and framing. To the sounds of cracking wood from the stove, perfect darkness frames the natural scenery within reach.
The aim of the project was to see for oneself whether it was possible to acquire a private house for the price of a panel apartment. A parallel is drawn here with the prefabricated house designed by Karel Hubáček under the residential building "Wolkerák" in Liberec. Hubáček, with whom Petr Stolín worked briefly, decided in the 1960s to build an experimental prefabricated house that would offer a cheap and fast alternative to panel apartments. At that time, however, no one could be found who was willing to live in the house. Only a combination of circumstances compelled the author to move into the house, and Karel Hubáček subsequently spent the next half-century in this experimental house. That no one else sought to have a similar house built by him is primarily a loss for everyone else. I believe that Petr Stolín will be more successful in this regard.