Simple, elegant, and functional solution not only for recreation
The rural house in Provodín is a recreational property in the true sense of the word. The owner did not want to share the fate of most typical weekenders who buy a cottage only to become its slave for the rest of their “weekend life.” Repairing the roof, replacing gutters, cleaning chimneys… and before you know it, the weekend is gone. This exhausting cycle was avoided by the investor of the house in Provodín when he preferred new construction over renovation.



The project was designed by architect Filip Řepka from the Prague studio S.P.A.D. The family house in Provodín is located at the foot of Kraví Hora in the Českolipsko region. In designing the house, the architect found an ideal starting point in how to combine a modern yet rural appearance of the house with the landscape of Českolipsko. Thus, the new construction in Provodín did not disrupt the enchanting solitude of the four homesteads located in the middle of the protected landscape area Natura 2000, and visually respects the historical development. The investor utilized land neighboring his family homestead, and certainly it was the family roots that led him to such a sensitive approach in searching for the optimal project and in communication with the architect.

“I must admit that I initially toyed with the idea of buying a homestead that I would renovate. I would avoid looking for the face of a house that would perfectly fit into the local landscape, potential rejection from the authorities... However, the investment in new construction does not differ in cost from renovation, and a new house has its advantages. Among them, I would mention higher comfort and low-maintenance operation of the house,” explains the investor.

Flexible heating for irregular recreation
Indeed, traditional Czech buildings are not usually ideal for recreation in terms of thermal comfort. Sometimes even one-meter thick exterior walls slowly accumulate heat, and in winter, the interiors do not have enough time to warm up during a short weekend. The investor placed emphasis on comfortable rest, which was reflected in the design solutions of the house. The structure is made of Ytong aerated concrete, which guarantees users a unique microclimate throughout the year. Aerated concrete is an ideal material from the perspective of thermal comfort not only because it achieves better thermal insulation than other masonry elements. Ytong also has optimal thermal inertia. Therefore, it well resists changes in outdoor temperatures while allowing a relatively flexible change in temperature when arriving at a cooled house after a long absence. The family house in Provodín has central hot-water heating with an electric boiler. Most spaces have panel radiators, while the main living area (40 m2) features floor convectors. A wood-burning stove in the living room is connected to the heating system through a heat exchanger.



Precision construction without insulation
The investor has worked in construction in the past, so he supervised the building process himself. The result was a truly precisely performed shell structure, which was built by a Českolipsko-based contracting company.

“Quality execution of the construction was even more important to us because the owner chose an uninsulated structure. The thermal technical parameters of the masonry largely depend on adhering to prescribed construction procedures during masonry work. For bricks, site discipline is more complicated, and the constructed masonry is additionally weakened by subsequent installations of services, where perforated bricks can start to crumble like gingerbread. With Ytong, the installations are simply grooved,” clarifies architect Řepka as to why they favored Ytong in choosing the construction system.

The recreational building must breathe
During use, the owner appreciated another property of the aerated concrete: The material is breathable. If the exterior wall is not sealed with sealant or adhesive and diffusion-open plasters are used, the building breathes. The breathability of the masonry plays a significant role, especially in recreational buildings, due to irregular occupancy or ventilation, which makes them prone to mold in the interiors. The external shell of the family house in Provodín consists of Ytong blocks class P2-400 with a thickness of 375 mm, while for the gables, blocks of 500 mm thickness were used due to the chimney structures.
The exterior walls are uninsulated, but both gables are clad with natural building stone made of fine-grained kaolinitic limestone from the Krákorka quarry. The investor could have certainly achieved higher thermal comfort by using uninsulated Ytong Lambda construction (with the same thickness), but these thermally insulating blocks were not yet on the market during the design phase.

Simple, elegant, and functional. This could briefly describe the architectural and construction solution of the family house in Provodín at the end. The two-story, unbasement house with an utilized attic offers above-standard comfort and relaxing recreation for a family of four, thanks to its area of 200 m2.