Slapy Rural Retreat

Just one house and some parts of stone walls now remain from a homestead that once stood far away, in one of the meanders of river Vltava. In an effort to restore the place we complement the remaining house with two additional buildings. All three objects then create an U-shaped composition with central courtyard. This setting is typical for most historical village houses, including the one that used to stand here. Considering the present needs of our client, the composition we propose is a sensitive interpretation of the former setup rather than its straightforward restoration. That is why we open the courtyard towards the river unlike the original orientation of the buildings. Thanks to the regulation by cascading, the river no longer poses a threat, instead it is one of the best qualities of the location.

The homestead is made of 3 simple rectangular volumes with sloped roof following its historical counterpart. Both the existing and the opposing volumes are smaller than the larger central object with a scale of a former barn. All three objects are interconnected by a continuous porch alongside the main volume glazed wall. While the key material for the walls of our proposed volumes is the same granite from a local quarry used on the existing buildings, the roofs are finished in slate tiles. These two materials are completed by a larch wood used on window frames, the porch structure and the roof itself.