House at crossroads / 2017

The times when the proximity of the road was an indicator of the attractiveness of a place to live, have long been forgotten. Once a small distance from a residential building to the road gave a chance for easy contact and exchange of goods. The richest lived by the road, the poor – near the forest. Today is the opposite. If we asked about the dream place to live, the most probable answer would be a plot on the slope, under the forest, overlooking the lake. Only such plots are sold, and even if they do happen then their prices are way too high.
Anyway, it is getting harder and harder to find attractive places for construction. Almost all locations that reach us are burdened with some inconvenience. But the plot at the intersection? Can anything be done about it?
We think that we have found a way. Perhaps the law of design worked, which we deeply believe in: “The harder, the better the final result.” Of course, the law only applies if both the designer and the investor do the hard work and non-conventional thinking.

The building was designed as an acoustic barrier. The only openings that overlook the road are the garage entrance, the house entrance and the window closing the corridor at the sleeping area. These two holes are obscured by wooden, vertical louvers, which are fixed so that the light falls inside, but the view from outside is impossible.
The walls “off the roads” were dragged around the plot, and they lower only in the corner towards the view of the vast fields. This direction will remain undeveloped in the foreseeable future. “Cropped view” gives a beautiful perspective from the terrace and garden.
Residents of the house are completely separated from the noise from the intersection and the curious glances of passers-by and neighbors without losing a distant view of the fields.
Turning all rooms towards the atrium usually involves the need to lengthen the passageways. In the “House at the intersection”, this was avoided by introducing a second smaller atrium in the corner of the plot. The mini garden overlooks the children’s rooms, the kitchen and one of the living room windows. Even small children will be under the watchful eye of their mother completely safe. As adults, they will be able to truthfully say that they grew up at an intersection.

The building is covered with a green roof. In addition to the undoubted benefits for the interior microclimate, this is important for landscape. The house, seen from distant high perspectives, blends in with its surroundings.

Because the problem of air pollution is unfortunately still very troublesome, the investor decided to use the GWC ventilation system with recuperation. This solution is supported by health and economic considerations – filtering and treatment of air extracted from the outside and recovery of energy from the ejected. GWC and green roof eliminates the need for air conditioning.

The materials used for construction are simple and inexpensive: walls made of silicate insulated with mineral wool and mineral structural plaster according to Caparol technology, plastered from the inside only in some rooms, raw concrete ceilings, and floors with epoxy resins and wood.