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Architects: Laurynas Žakevičius Architects
- Area: 170 m²
- Year: 2019
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Photographs:Leonas Garbacauskas
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Lead Architect: Laurynas Žakevičius
Text description provided by the architects. The main inspiration of the family house was the location and the motif of the region ethnographic barn-building. It is designed in a rich natural and historical etnographic environment – Dzūkija in Lithuania. It is one of the five ethno-cultural regions of (ethnic) Lithuania, located in southeastern Lithuania. Therefore, every solution of the building, from the smallest architectural detail to the final volume, is solid, continious amd seamless to create the house like a sculpture, harmoniously blending into the natural background.
One-story building with an attic was created by combining Lithuanian wooden construction and the needs of modern family. All facades are made of larch. The solution of a solid, minimal silhouette is also maintained when designing the roof - it was also decorated with the same larch boards. The picturesqueness of the larch facade structure is particularly fascinating, especially when after a few years the north or the south sides can be clearly distinguished (in the south, the wood is more burnt). As expressed in another way, the exterior of the house lives according to the rhythm of nature: it darkens after rain, naturally changes color as it ages - fades, the ornamentation of the materials becomes more highlighted. Also, many advantages are provided by the specificity of larch itself - the extremely resistant tree allows not to use impregnants and to abandon maintenance work. The specifics of larch itself also provides many advantages - the highly resistant wood allows not to use chemical impregnants and to reduce maintenance work for the family.
The hollow openwork space at the top of the roof became a decorative and original detail. An openwork accent, when viewed from different sides, visually reveals itself in anew ways. Informally, the silhouette of the house became Dzūko - Japanese style. The concept of the interior of the residential house is modern. Wood and white motifs dominate. On the first floor, a large number of windows was designed to open up the view of the pine trees, forest, and meadow. It blurs the line between outdoors and indoors. In this case, windows also reinforce the atmosphere of a gallery in living area. Another exception of the interior volume is the interior balcony (the synergy of lines and volume is especially important for the architects). The fact that we are not in a country house is revealed mostly by the open space over two floors (only a part of the attic has two bedrooms and a bathroom for children). Exposed wooden structural beams, wooden windows, floors, some furniture - create a feeling of coziness and connection with the outdoors.
The building blends harmoniously into the natural background of the forest as if it were its resident. Therefore, the approaches to the house were only naturally cultured. And the raised beds for the garden, constructed from a wooden frame (contribution of the owners of the house), are part of the overall architectural ensemble.
