The Bath&Guest House

Project description

The Guest&Bath House is located on a natural meadow in a forest right on the hill above the pond. The topography of the site includes a pronounced slope towards the north pond area. It is surrounded by wild nature. The house complements the natural surroundings and the interior is formed by the whole construction of the building. It was decided to make the house totally wooden, but with the big glass openings.

Black was chosen for the exterior and interior as the most abstract and neutral colour. The wooden construction is based on the joining of big and long wooden beams and high, narrow wooden pillars. The uniform rhythm of the wooden supports forms the whole structure and constitutes the main spirit of the house, with the recurrent rhythm of tree trunks. All the interior walls are wooden framework covered with plywood. Windows and doors are custom-made, along with the wooden or plywood furniture specially designed for this project. The double-height living space is orientated towards the pond through the forest opening.  The main entrance is on the west side. There is an independent staff entrance to the bath service area next door. A small parking area adjoins the back to the left of the entrance zone.  It is possible to go through the house to the terrace and then along the wide wooden outdoor staircase to get to the pond, or to take a narrow rammed-earth lane leading to the water, bypassing the house.

At the heart of the spatial planning solutions, there is the separation of the house in accordance with its functions into two similar parts with similar configurations, but different in height and volume. The choice was for a simple and clear composition of two prismatic volumes incising each other at an angle of 90 degrees. The high volume is almost completely glazed. The volume is located along the north-south axis, „suspended” over the terrain on the concrete foundation. It provides the advantage of specific characteristics with regard to the interior. The low volume is designed more as solid. It is positioned perpendicular to the high volume and parallel to the back yard with parking. Both volumes have flat roofs. One is covered with wood and acts as a terrace, the other one is made with gravity leading to the external drains. The roof surface is sprinkled with crushed stone. On the ground floor there is a double-height living space with a small fireplace and a dining space, a kitchen and bathroom on one side. On the other side there is the bath & sauna zone with a changing room, showers and a relaxation tea room. From the relaxation area with a sauna, there is access to a spacious terrace with an all-season bath tub. All the technical and staff spaces are in the separate part connected to the main house by means of a corridor and have direct access towards the street through the glass door. A simple wooden staircase leads to the first-floor private area with guest bedrooms and a library.

The foundations of the house and terraces are made of reinforced concrete. A grid of load-bearing walls is arranged on a monolithic concrete base. The concrete surface is made to look raw and impure. On the reinforced concrete base there is a wooden load-bearing framework made of glulam. The intermediate floors are also made of glued wooden elements and filled with insulation. Roofs have effective insulation and a waterproofing membrane. The façades are clad with vertical wooden panelling. The terraces are decked with wooden boards. Water-resistant lime plaster with different pigments is used for the wall and floor finishing in the bathrooms. Grey and white marble is used for the floors and walls in the kitchen and sauna zone.