KONKRET studio wraps hungarian family house in dark corrugated slates

KONKRET studio’s award-winning + sustainable house design

hidden between a walnut grove and an open hay field, this hungarian house sits with its bold and corrugated façade – an unconventional appearance in residential design. architecture firm KONKRET studio completed the award-winning project as a low-cost, but durable single-floor home for a family of four, with a strong connection to the garden.

‘looking back, we could say that with harmonic cooperation we managed to create a compact and sustainable home for the family, which is at the same time exciting and keeps it simple’, shares KONKRET studio. the project won the media architecture prize 2020 and the house of the year green award 2020 in hungary. 

images © levente sirokai and krisztina ancza

A COMPACT DESIGN WITH OPTIMIZED SPATIAL ORGANIZATION

at first glance, the house appears quite compact; the design team purposefully created that impression to minimize the architectural footprint and avoid unnecessary occupation of open land –  resulting in a strict spatial organization. ‘with sufficient optimization we could define the minimized, but liveable space with practical and compact systematic solutions’, explain the architects of KONKRET studio. for example, the location of the project strongly defined the placement of the openings, entrance and boundaries of the house to create an overall harmony with the narrow but long plot of land. 

all of that concluded in a simple, proportionate volume with an asymmetrical pitched roof. the solid, square-shaped plan of the house provides an ideal connection between the social and private areas: bedrooms are along the north side  while the living-dining room and kitchen are south-bound. between those two spatial volumes sits the entrance axis with a wall of built-in cabinets. even though the kitchen is physically separated from the living-dining room, both still maintain a strong visual connection. 

the house is designed with a strong connection to the garden

AN UNSUAL BLEND OF MATERIAL THAT HIGHLIGHTs SIMPLE LIVING

the intention for simple living and quietude determined the choice of materials for the interiors: polished subgrade concrete floor, white plastered walls and the oak furniture blend seamlessly to create spatial cohesion. these simple spaces also highlight some family ‘relics’: a restored yellow sideboard; a bench inherited from grandparents; a wardrobe that defines the tone of the parent’s bedroom; a suitcase repurposed as a coffee table and various hand-made textiles. 

meanwhile, KONKRET studio opted for an unusual choice for the exterior façade: a black, self-cleaning, corrugated fiber-cement slate. this waterproof and sturdy material acts as a roofing and insulation system for the house, all while offering a homogenous appearance thanks to its simple and practical shape. that said, instead of applying eaves, its corrugated texture also allows for drainage into the ground. the covered entrance and terrace of the living room, however, are the only interruptions to the corrugated shell: these spatial components are made of warm-colored and slat-lined larch that counterbalances the industrial accent of the black shell. 

black corrugated fiber-cement slate wraps up most of the volume of the house

the warm-colored larch slates of the terrace counterbalance the industrial quality of the corrugated shell

a careful selection of material was chosen to emphasize simple living and a calm atmosphere

oak accents create spatial cohesion within the house designed by KONKRET studio

the black corrugated shell was chosen for its sturdy character and practical shape

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project info:

 

name: house in a walnut grove

year of completion: 2019 

architecture: KONKRET studio
team: csaba balogh, ágnes deigner, levente sirokai, péter sónicz, orsolya tatár-gönczi

awards: media architecture prize 2020, house of the year green award 2020

photography: levente sirokai, krisztina ancza

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom