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The Graphic Designer’s House

The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai

THE GRAPHIC DESIGNER’S HOUSE

Architecture Uncomfortable Workshop

LOCATION
Nagykovácsi, Hungary

PHOTOGRAPHS
Andras Zoltai

CATEGORY
Houses

ARCHITECTS
Architecture Uncomfortable Workshop

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Denes Emil Ghyczy , Lukacs Szederkenyi

AREA
100.0 m2

MANUFACTURERS
Adax, Auro, ROCKWOOL

PROJECT YEAR
2017

The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai
The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai

Text description provided by architect.

This wood-frame house in Nagykovácsi, not far from the capital, was designed for a young graphic designer. As the client, she expressed her needs clearly and took an active part in the design and construction process, which came to incorporate the proportions of her design universe.

The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai
The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai

The house’s mid-sized plot is at the foot of the Zsíros-hegy hill, bordered by a narrow and relatively deep wooded ravine to the north.

Twenty years ago, this area was still all holiday homes, but today family homes of various shapes and sizes are springing up all around.

The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai
The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai

At first sight against that background, the wooden house overlooking the ravine sticks out of the streetscape, as if it were the first representative of some strange, hitherto unknown local architecture.

The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai
The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai

The shape of the roof, supported on the two longer sides, resembles that of wooden houses in Austria, but the building is far smaller in its proportions.

The house’s tripartite division played an important role in the design concept.

The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai
The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai
The Graphic Designer’s House
The Graphic Designer’s House

This is manifested in the increasing calm of each level’s function as you move up through the house.

The ground floor contains the living room, kitchen, and bathroom; the first floor the bedroom and study; while the “tower” is a contemplation space.

We’ve concentrated the primary functions of the house on the ground floor (kitchen, dining room, bathroom, living room, storage), while on the first floor, we’ve created a large continuous space for sleeping and working.

The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai
The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai

This space, which can be subdivided into smaller rooms if needed, looks directly out at the trees of the ravine to the north through a large triangular window.

Standing in this space, you feel as if the whole house were constructed with this view in mind. The house, however, presents a more traditional aspect on its street-front side.

The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai
The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai

The “tower” on the third floor, accessible by a ladder, is a space for contemplation. The pierced joists and the tower’s windows make for easy circulation of air in the wooden house.

The goal with the materials of both the internal and external cladding was to maintain a natural look. For instance, the owner will only oil the external red pine cladding after the wood has dried and grayed.

The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai
The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai
The Graphic Designer’s House
© Andras Zoltai

Overall, it’s the individual solutions and unusual use of materials that make this architecturally apparently traditional building contemporary.

The Graphic Designer’s House
Drawing
The Graphic Designer’s House
Section


The Graphic Designer’s House
Elevation
The Graphic Designer’s House
Elevation
The Graphic Designer’s House
Elevation
The Graphic Designer’s House
Elevation


The Graphic Designer’s House
Ground Floor Plan
The Graphic Designer’s House
Upper Floor Plan
The Graphic Designer’s House
Mezzanineplan

Au Workshop
M +36 20 9374204
Au Workshop
Budapest, Széchenyi u. 41, 1028 Hungary