generational house

When a retired couple commissioned Slovakian architectural studio Compass Architekti to design a house for them in Jarovce, a quiet residential borough outside of the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, they only had three basic requirements: a small house, no stairs and lots of space for their nine grandchildren(yikes). Although simple in nature, grouped together these demands presented quite a challenge.

The architects’ answer to their client’s brief is appropriately both simple and canny, centered on an L-shape, modernist building that hems in a grassy courtyard. Think of the lawn area as the arena or stage where the children can play and the outstretched house partly circumscribing it as the viewing area where they can be supervised from. Meanwhile, the house’s elongate footprint means there’s no need for a second floor, and therefore, no need for stairs.

The slender structure is topped by a cantilevered roof slab boldly banding together the two wings of the house. Curvilinear in shape, it extends towards the garden providing both visual cohesion, enhanced by the mirroring decking underneath, and solar shading; the latter is important because of the building’s orientation. The interior design boasts a minimalist, modernist sensibility summarized in the exposed concrete roof, the screed flooring and the neutral color palette of white and grays which is gently complemented by the use of oak for wall cladding and occasionally punctuated by splashes of black in the form of furniture, light fittings and window frames. The house is a perfect balance of family life and sophistication.