House and the River

Located on a suburban meadow of the river banks the sliced volume for living descends to a lush creek. Aiming to preserve local biodiversity, the roof is blooming with herbs and flowers for surrounding bees and little insects. The volume is interrupted by the large wooden terrace that creates solitude and frames the river as if another room outside the house. White interior space acts as an ascetic background for living, filled with a mindful selection of most important furnitures and objects, each carrying its own unique story. The House and the River refuses to fence off becoming open to the surrounding context, a continuous part of the nature it is placed within.

The site for the house is located in the suburban area in Lithuania. Bordering a local road on the South, squeezed in between two neighbours, the plot marked a piece of landscape, a fragrant suburban meadow descending to a lush creek on the North. The two opposing conditions the site is facing resulted in a volume as if sliced in half filled with a layer of grasses sheltering living space underneath. Aiming to compensate the local biodiversity, the North facing sloping roof is blooming with herbs and flowers creating a continuous green vista from the banks of the river. The volume is interrupted by the large wooden terrace that creates a feeling of solitude and frames the river as if another room outside the house. The spacious terrace naturally induces many indoor activities to take place under an open sky bordering a lush vegetable garden to be accessible on bare foot. A spacious living area faces the river with large opening enhancing nature as the central figure of its interior. The North oriented windows provide maximum views with no overheat during hot seasons while on the Southern side the big upper floor opening ensures quality light and warmth throughout the cold months.

The inclined volume is constructed using locally manufactured ceramic blocks. A rather pragmatic elevation towards the road is covered with rough brushed plaster enhancing the inclination of the slope and reacting to a more urban setting of neighbouring houses. The roof is made out of prefabricated concrete panels and sheltered with green roof system that creates natural insulation for the interior space during cold winters and hot summers of Lithuanian climate. The roof extends the garden with a mix of sedum, herbs and wild flowers providing habitat for local biodiversity.