Villa Vista: A Modern House with Stacking of Five Blocks for Massing and Minimalist Composition

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Znameni Ctyr Architekti uses a historical garden park and panoramic views of Prague’s skyline as the main inspirations for this house design concept. This garden surrounds the traditional city villas quarter Hanspaulka in the Czech Republic where a large residential compound is located. With 1200 m² in size, Villa Vista combines massing and minimalist composition which are formed by stacking of five blocks – storeys.

Spaces

The parking level and lowest one entrance extending to the house exterior granite covered yard, cut into the terrain fully. While the second storey of the house is submerged partly. This level is the largest level by floor area, forming a masonry pedestal of the house. The glazed main living space is situated on it, surrounded on all sides by mature trees and also full of natural light. This living space opens up into the higher and lower level too via two inner galleries.

The atrium is located in the large terrace behind the house, designed based on the same principle of the fourth storey visual interconnection. One can find levitating sculpture-like mass above the fully-glazed central-living space which is similar to the lower partially submerged second storey. The horizontal corner windows and massive blocks of well-balanced proportions designate the living space that separated with the exterior only by glazing.

Materials

The brick face of an irregular brick joint is used to highlight the horizontality of the whole architectural composition. The small wholly glazed superstructure and the highest positioned roof terrace act as a vantage point that is surrounded by roof-garden with perennials. The concept of solid and hollow volumes layering with simple geometry and submerging into the sloping terrain can lighten the whole 5-storey mansion impression.

Garden

This house doesn’t project into its garden but it allows itself to be interpenetrated and surrounded by this garden. The formal part of the garden and the front street is reminiscent of French geometric style that composed of box trees and horizontal strips of perennials. One can find a private garden space behind the hedge of shaped yew trees. This garden space is designed in the natural English park style.