angled roof formation shields residence in czech mountains

Homestead by WMA Architects resides in the Beskydy Mountains

Opava-based studio WMA Architects construct a contemporary woodland homestead standing on the site of an old typical Beskydy barn-house dating from the late eighteenth century in the Czech Republic. Situated in a meadow covering an area of 20 000 sqm on the border of a large forest in the Protected Landscape Area, the building is mostly made from wooden materials coupled with stone. Considering the position in a semi-open landscape exposed to western-eastern winds and an altitude of 600 meters above the ground, the design opts for a design that fully protects the structure from weather conditions.

Aiming for a direct connection between the residence and its surroundings the plan integrates the construction into the environment merging the volume with the sloping plot and forming a topping roof to shield the frame. The exterior blends with the interior space through large glass windows set on the entire facade of the living space. Amongst the common functions, the homestead, also, features a fireplace, a sauna with a relaxation area, outdoor seating with an open ingle, an outdoor grill known as a braai (bbq) area, a stone cellar, and a 3-meter-deep pond built on the plot.

all images by Jiří Alexander Bednář

larch wood and tree stumps shape the frame and the interior

Intended to preserve the ‘spirit’ and typical features of the original Beskydy buildings, known as ‘Pasekářs’, common in the area during the nineteenth century, the design team constructs the building using larch wood and locally sourced stone. The large tree trunks are felled in the forest during the winter, stored for several years to dry then cut on a local nineteenth-century machine before shaping the frame of the building. Solid larch wood is used throughout the structure serving as the predominant element of the project. Timber materiality is, also, applied in the interior as some of the custom furniture such as the coffee and dining tables are shaped from a sourced tree stump and a hundred-year-old eucalyptus plank, respectively.

The edifice, even though it is thoroughly protected from the weather conditions, opens large multi-layered glass windows throughout, with the ones in the common areas reaching from the floor to the roof, and the bedroom openings forming a distinct square shape. Another main feature of the living zone is the fireplace wall that adorns the heart of the house in the classic style of an open fire.

the volume splits into two units emerging from the mountainous landscape