a place to be.
Principal Award
The project received "Principal Award" in the competition organized by BW International.
The competition has been judged by:
-Fokke Moerel
Project Manager - MVRDV
Project Manager - MVRDV
-Neil Porter
Partner - Gustafson Porter
Partner - Gustafson Porter
-Mick Finch
Fine Art Course Leader - Central St Martins
Fine Art Course Leader - Central St Martins
-Ed Hollis
Director Of Research At ECA, Author of ‘How to Make a Home’
Director Of Research At ECA, Author of ‘How to Make a Home’
-The owners
The clients & owners
Jury Statement
The Jurors were impressed by the ambition to address beauty as both a ‘house and a ‘home’ and its incorporated range of flexibility by separating its functions to ‘core’ areas and extendable ‘additional’ living areas. The authors appeared to successfully integrate the home within the landscape without hiding within it, making the decision that the most ideal placement of the house was to abut the lake. Although it was noted that similar architectural typologies were also entered into the competition, the jury concluded that this was the most convincing of them all.
Designing a home is the hardest task an architect can face. Home is not just a sum of architectural spaces, walls, floors and roofs - it is a much deeper subject. Home is the most multifunctional type of building.
It is a reflection of the people living inside.It reflects their lifestyles, needs and personalities, but also influences them and their life. It is a place to be alone, but also together, to have fun and to rest, to be loud and to be silent, to be sad and to be happy, to work and play. It needs to become "a place to be."
“Home” is a concept that accompanies mankind since the age of hunters and gatherers. They needed a place to hide. It is defined by the function it serves - it is a place of retreat, a place of rest. “Make yourself at home” is a common phrase used in everyday life. The “home” is not always the spoker’s house or apartment. The meaning is more symbolical - it means to be relaxed, not to stress, to rest.
The modern aspect of the house on the other hand, relates with our modern lifestyle. Contemporary architecture tries to use modern means of expression.
Simplicity and diversity are two opposite sides that can be merged to create a perfect house. The ”modern archaic” home tries to answer all those connotations of the word “home”. The concept proposes a design that unifies both the modern and archaic views on how the house should look like.
Beauty is a quality of an object, that gives us pleasure or satisfaction, either through the senses, or via feelings embodied in it. Beautiful house is a house that speaks to us through the senses and feelings, that allows for different sensorial experiences and feelings.
The home is positioned on the edge of the lake, seamlessly melting into the ground. Both the lake and the meadow are incorporated into the design.
The ground floor is the foundation for the house both in physical, functional and metaphorical sense. It holds the basic functions of the typical home - living space, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms etc. The form of the ground level create a feeling of a safe refuge for the inhabitants. The grey brick expresses the firmness and the everlasting nature of the house. The day areas of the house are opened towards the nature, while the night areas are opened towards the silent courtyards.
The top level is an extension of the basic form. It is also designed in contrast to the ground level. It holds additional functions for the house - a guest room, a studio, a cinema, a playing room and an arbor. In oposition to the ground floor the top level rooms become detached and separated from each other. The wooden cladding and construction gives them additional sense of lightness.
The complexity of interlocking design decisions form a rather simple architectural concept that tries to tries to create "a place to be."
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