Kunratice – Family house IV

The house has a rectangular floor plan and takes the form of a heavy concrete block (upper floor) on a lightened, glazed pedestal (ground floor). The system of interior atria guarantees maximum privacy in all rooms, resolving in this manner the close contact of the house with public space. The house has one underground level, two above-ground levels and a small office on the upper roof. The ground floor with living spaces is closed to the street and open to the garden through massive glazing. The upper floor private zone with bedrooms for the entire family extends over the ground floor, creating covered spaces and shade. The rooftop office with a light structure is set back from the edge of the house for privacy purposes. The building is designed as a four-floor reinforced concrete frame structure combined with steel posts. Several types of concrete were employed on the house depending on the specific location. The main innovation is in the use of modified Liapor concrete, and complicated details around the sandwich structures and concrete panels were therefore eliminated. Walls with a thickness of 70 cm do not require any additional thermal insulation. The ceilings and cantilevers are also covered in concrete in a single monolithic whole with a thickness of 53 cm. The structural height of the house varies, though the ceiling height in all of the main rooms is 2.8 m. The roofs are flat and serve as terraces or are covered with dense vegetation.

Photo: Iveta Kopicová