A dormer window provides a first-floor observatory at this gabled lodge in the Czech Republic by A1 Architects of Prague.
Located in the woodland of a mountainous region in the north-west of the country, House on the Marsh provides a family retreat where residents can ski on the slopes during winter or relax in the sun for the summer.
Timber lines the walls, floors and ceiling of each room, including a first floor gallery that accommodates a hammock and small study space.
The balconies of the gallery overlook a combined living room, dining room and kitchen on the ground floor with a traditional tiled stove at its centre.
The timber-clad exterior of the house is painted dark green and the roof is steeply gabled to match the vernacular style of the regional architecture.
A front veranda offers a sheltered outdoor space, while another at the back provides storage for firewood.
We recently rounded up all of the holiday homes we've featured on Dezeen - see them all here.
Photography is by David Maštálka.
Here's some text from A1 Architects:
House on the Marsh
every house deserves its small extra space...
House on the Marsh is a private lodge located in the mountainous district of Jizerske hory in northern Bohemia. It is a family retreat hidden in marsh and forests, which provides great space to gather for all three family generations.
The house
The architecture of the house had to follow strict building regulations including the house geometry or specific colors or materials which were dictated by the local authorities, to reach traditional vernacular architecture.
Simple and traditional form of the house with tall gabled roof is repeated in an unique long dormer window which serves as a special extra space with splendid view of the valley. Dark green vertical cladding protects the supporting timber structure of the house.
In winter one might enter the lodge under the prolonged eaves that roofs southern glazed veranda, which perfectly serves also for sunbathing or preparation of all ski equipment. The sliding glass could be adjusted according to the weather conditions. The northern veranda is a storage for firewood.
Site plan - click above for larger image
The interior
The traditional green tile stove is anchored to the centre of the ground floor living space. This robust stove can perfectly heat up the whole lodge during the winter, but works also naturally as an inner magnet of the room, cause it is a warm bench, divan or a cooker. The living room is divided by the central stove into several parts and small corners, there is a kitchen, dining table, seating niche and inside firewood storage under the stairs. The living room is southern oriented and opens towards sunny veranda. Its space continues vertically above the dining table up to the first floor living gallery. There are 3 bedrooms in the house, each with its own bathroom. Two of them are upstairs and the main bedroom for the oldest generation of skiers is situated in the ground floor next to the living room.
Ground floor plan - click above for larger image
The lookout dormer aka "lolling space"
The attic gallery is a place where to just lounge about, after the whole day of cross-country skiing, while enjoying the advantage of wonderful view from the hammock or from the long dormer window which we started to call "the lolling space". It is an extra space, an independent typological kind with the only purpuse – to loll. We believe that every house deserves its own extra space.
First floor plan - click above for larger image
Client: Private
Authors: A1 Architects - Lenka Křemenová, David Maštálka
Interior Cooperation: Jakub Šulc
Construction: Reno S.R.O.
Joinery: Radek Opalecký
Photography: A1 Architects – David Maštálka
Area: 170 M2
Realization: 2011-12
Study Project: 2010