TEN studio sets steel-frame house atop two boulder-like concrete volumes in rural serbia

located in a rural landscape on avala mountain near belgrade, serbia, ‘avala house’ by TEN studio is a single-story, steel frame residence designed to blur the boundaries between inside and outside. the steel and glass dwelling is set on a pair of concrete, boulder-like forms dedicated to both an outside garden staircase and a storage space with a garden bathroom. built over an existing southward inclining orchard garden, the project embraces the immediate landscape while setting a new clear geometry and strong architectural outline.all images by maxime delvaux, unless stated otherwise

‘the house is a case study on how design effort can turn sufficiency into a desirable form for living,’ says TEN. the zurich and belgrade-based architecture studio developed ‘avala house’ as a single-story space, organised by a 3.2-meter grid frame, measuring 16 by 16 meter square, with an interior cut out of 9.6 by 9.6 meters revealing the terrain below. the surrounding surface forms the inhabited area of the house while defining the building perimeter.image by milos martinovic

the building’s frame comprises 80 millimeter square steel tube profiles welded in place and fixed to the structural minimum of three foundation points on the terrain. the sloping ground continues between and underneath the house, offering a shaded outdoor living space while introducing landscape elements into the central space of the building. the steel-frame, open structure above is designed to allow various scenarios of exposure to nature within the home.

the plan of ‘avala house’ is developed on the outer grid as a sequence of four terraces interlocking at corners to offer a new horizon for dwelling. each terrace is complete with a different surface material, including a hanging net, sheet steel, pre-cast concrete, and the open frame. through the performance of the steel frame’s movable elements, the house is able to undergo a total transformation of scale and atmosphere.image by milos martinovic

ten large pivoting steel doors compose the opaque wall facing the central interior space, allowing the living area to shift from a singular indoor space of 50 sqm to embrace the 156 sqm volumes of the four outdoor terraces. the large stretch of glass on the southern façade of the frame extends the living space to the rise of the distant hills, while customised sun shading provides privacy and shelter. the interior is discretely partitioned by a series of floor-to-ceiling, full-length curtains defining the sleeping area from the kitchen, dining, sitting, and bathroom.

‘in its open state, the main living is one in plan, dedicating the entire space to a single program if desired,’ notes TEN. ‘the house inverts the priority of building a traditional protected shelter in nature, by allowing various scenarios of exposure to nature within the building.’

TEN developed ‘avala house’ for a local craftsman, with the central premise to include the future owner in the process of making by specifying only available local material and construction knowledge, with design decisions on durable structures and surfaces to be repaired. instead of delivering a complete conceptual product, the studio approached the development of the project through a genuine conversation on the process of construction, the future use and practical and necessary maintenance. the conversation identified material resources, workshop skill and capacities within the range of the immediate region, while novel solutions were discovered, including the in-situ casting of the exposed concrete foundations with recycled steel sheets.

‘the accuracy of the formwork was determined by interior joiners, the casting with a self-compacting concrete mixture developed in dialogue with local subsidiaries and contractors,’ explains the studio. ‘this not only contributed to the local economy but through experimentation in the procedure of construction, offered new applications for local construction skills. left exposed, this reveals the proof of labour and skill in the forces driving construction, while the formal expression demonstrates the human factor in the production of dwelling.

this extends the dialogue originating from the pioneers of yugoslavian modernism – a movement instrumental in the transformation of society through the local adaptation of progressive technologies and self-determination in design and construction. in the same way, the making of “avala house” in the form of the ideal contemporary home uses everyday materials, formed personally by the skills of local makers to create a product of regional significance.’