The Trees - Private Residence

KOKI (The Trees) is a private residence in the densely populated village of Bukulti near Riga. As a family retreat it is hidden from the street side but opens widely to Lake Baltezers. The low and unpretentious volume of the 306.2 m2 house expresses the caring attitude of the owners and designers to the natural surroundings of the 10756.0 m2 coastal land. The building has been made to integrate in the surrounding nature as much as the existing flood line allows to.

The house has a democratic planning scheme - every member of the family has an identical private space with a view of the lake. The spatial axis of the house is the sky-lit entrance hall which connects the access road to the house and the platform next to the water channel. The center of the house is the open-plan kitchen and library, separated by a large look-through fireplace. The design and construction of the house is based on the use of the Baltic materials - locally produced concrete blocks, natural stone and thermo-wood timber boards from Estonia. The grey walls of the Estonian dolomite are the main design element of the facades, they continue into the sky-lit interior. The wastewaters are collected and purified locally by a bio-chemical wastewater tank.