House MJ stands on the outskirts on a once undeveloped patch of meadow between residential houses and forest edge.
The house stands detached from the road, on the slope higher up, overlooking the town of Novo Mesto. Due to the views and the configuration of the plot, the house opens towards northwest.
“The client wanted a contemporary house with a spacious and bright living area,” says the architect Blaž Kandus, but the building needed to be orientated so the wall of glazing running along the length of the living room and kitchen overlooked the town of Novo Mesto downhill to the north-west.
With the slight split of levels it adapts to the terrain and at the same time separates the living from the sleeping area. The home is designed around an open floor plan with all of the bedrooms breaking off from the main living room.
The house is without corridors, the rooms can be entered from the shifted landing, which is part of the living area. The shape of the roof allows the morning sun from the southeast to light the entrance, bathroom and the living room.
With a difficult sloping site, and views to the north-west, Kombinat had faced a significant challenge in trying to provide as much natural light as possible into the living area of the house.
Therefore, clerestory windows and two mono-pitched roofs were designed to allow for mid-morning sun to penetrate the living and kitchen area.
The construction is prefabricated timber frame with larch wood facade. The garage with the carport in detached from the house and stands at the street.
This structure was then clad with vertical strips of larch wood. The cladding system is simple and elegant and provides the home with golden brown warmth as it blends into the surrounding forest.
It is dug into the slope so as not to obstruct the views from the house. Traces of wooden formwork on the exposed concrete establish a dialogue between the garage and the house.
Location: Novo Mesto, Slovenia
Architects: Kombinat
Project Team: Tomaž Čeligoj, Ana Grk, Blaž Kandus, Alenka Korenjak, Tina Rugelj, Tjaša Mavrič
Photo: Matjaž Tančič and Klemen Ilovar
Plot Area: 1.495,00 mq
Floor Area: 247,11 mq
Project & Construction: 2009-2012