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Where the Roads Meet House

Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė

WHERE THE ROADS MEET HOUSE

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ARCHITECTS
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DESIGN TEAM
Ruūta Vitonytėe, Milda Lišauskaitėe

LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Herbela

INTERIOR LIGHTS
Aromas

MANUFACTURERS
AGROB BUCHTAL, Reynaers Aluminium, Benjamin Moore, Kebony, Sto, Woodlife Flooring

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Aikus

INSIDE AND OUTSIDE LIGHTING
Sostines šviesos

MAIN CONTRACTOR
Profesionalios statybos

AREA
290 m²

YEAR
2020

LOCATION
Lithuania

CATEGORY
Houses

Text description provided by architect.

When we think of crossroads, we rarely call it a MEETING place of roads, much more often just their intersection.

Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė
Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė

And after all, this place makes us stop, choose another direction of movement, see each other.

It is a kind of mythological place, also mentioned in fairy tales, legends, where heroes are forced to decide their own destiny.

Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė
Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė

The clients chose a plot in a small, cozy community located along a suburban street, having only a single crossroad.

After inspecting the territory, the first attempt prompted to isolate oneself as much as possible, to protect the area from noise and strangers.

Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė
Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė

However, after observing the local rhythm of life, the importance of this space for the community became clear - it is a place where the flows of different communities pass, place where the MEETING happens.

In such a context, our approach to the situation has changed. We desired to reconcile privacy and the benefits of living in the community.

We have proposed to abandon the traditional fencing of the territory with fences, delegating the function of protecting the family space to the house itself.

Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė
Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė

The proposal of the sculptural concrete wall of the house with plant inclusions also helps to highlight the desire not to privatize the street space, but rather to enrich it and turn it into a gateway to the deep world of the community.

Thus, the mentioned wall becomes an essential compositional and functional formant of the building. The structure arranged at an angle, forming the intersection, creates a cozy family space. .

Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė
Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė

The wall is designed not only to protect from the streetarea, but let the western sun into the premises as well. In the north corner, the entrance yard of the house became a kind of relaxation zone, a secret garden, behind which the other world begins.

The house, with a minimum of windows on three sides, opens up with all its interior spaces to the southern, enclosed courtyard

Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė
Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė

The living and kitchen areas on the first floor have direct access to the covered courtyard terrace with an outdoor fireplace area, while the bedrooms on the second floor have a south-facing balcony for a fun evening.

After the vital crossroad space, light is the second factor that influences the expression of a house. In such a context, the building has tried to let the natural light in from all sides, to generate as much sunlight as possible by shaping the elements of architecture accordingly at the same time.

Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė
Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė

The concrete wall of the house is designed not over the entire height of the first level, leaving a small gap for the sunlight to come in.

All in all, it would be misleading to think that the house is just a user of the light - on the evening when it gets dark around, the light emanating through skylights and slit windows further illuminates the MEETING crossroad, which from now on symbolizes the beginning of community space.

Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė


Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė
Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė
Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė
Where the Roads Meet House
© Ieva Saudargaitė


Where the Roads Meet House
Elevation - East
Where the Roads Meet House
Section


Where the Roads Meet House
Plan - Second floor
Where the Roads Meet House
Plan - Ground floor
Where the Roads Meet House

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T +370 5 2711808
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Ateities g. 10, Vilnius, 08303 Vilniaus m. sav., Lithuania