On the edge

Project idea

The main idea was to design a luxury villa for young couple without using any artificial lighting. Therefore, we had to focus not only on the use of sunlight, but also on the play of light and shadow. The shadow is always defined by the edge. Its the space between tengible materials that gives the shape to the play of light and shadow. For this reason, a great emphasis was placed on the creation of the openings through which the sun enters the villa. To achieve the desired lighting, the space must be opened not just to the sides, but also throught the roof. Each skylight is design to fit the room it illuminates. Sunlight thus passes into the individual rooms at the required time, quantity and directness. Thanks to the different orientation of the skylights, we get direct or diffused light falling on strategic places in the rooms.

Project description

For the villa, which must not use any artificial lighting, the choice of land and the orientation of the building were crucial. There are no significantly higher points around Husovická hill, so it is not shielded by any other object. The plot is oriented to the south.
I let the light guide me in my design. I tried to get the sun's rays into the northern and more remote parts of the house. That's why I came up with the solution to assign one skylight to each room. I always pulled it to the required height and, if necessary, tilted it to the desired side of the world. This resulted in a rugged roof that resembles the rocky bedrock found on the site.
Each room has skylights adapted to a function. In the technical rooms, the skylights are smaller and oriented to the north to prevent overheating. On the contrary, they are larger in living rooms. The headroom of the living rooms is greater than that of the technical areas.
Another criterion for the design of the skylights was the presence of distinctive elements in the interior. They were designed in such a way that the light was directed to strategic places, for example the kitchen island, the dining table, the bathtub or the double bed.
Of course, I could not leave out the beautiful view that is visible from the property. The large glass areas in the living rooms not only provide the necessary light, but also frame the view of the entire historic part of the city.
When planning the layout of the villa, I first marked out the rooms where there should be the most sunlight. It is a living room, a dining room, a kitchen and a study. These rooms are located in the southern part of the house. On the contrary, I put spaces where there shouldn't be so much light due to overheating in the northern part. This is, for example, a pantry, a toilet, a room for housework or a dressing room.
The vestibule leads us to the dressing room and the area for ironing or washing. It is in these rooms that we only find skylights oriented to the north. Next, we reach the corridor, the guest toilet and the study. The corridor is also open to the terrace, and to the main living room.
The kitchen, dining room and living room are combined into one space. But the roof above them is divided according to the function in the room. There are three skylights here, each of them is adapted differently, while the highest clear height is just above the coffee table in the living area of ​​the room. Near the kitchenette is a pantry with a small skylight facing north.
The quiet zone is located in the northeast corner of the house. The bedroom has specific light requirements. In the morning will direct sunlight pasing through east window serve as natural alarm clock. In the evening there will be only diffused sunlight that does not disturb while falling asleep. The last room not yet mentioned is a private bathroom with access only from the bedroom. The main point here is the free-standing bathtub. There is also a hidden toilet and a separate shower behind the partition.

Technical information

I chose a reinforced concrete wall as the main structural element. I wanted to add a bit of simplicity to the building. The roof is made up of several shells, in which the skylights mentioned so many times are located. The roof structure will be made of reinforced waterproof concrete. The floor covering in the living rooms is a parquet floating floor, the terrace has wooden decking. I would like to keep the light gray color of the concrete to imitate the rock that the house is meant to resemble.