House MJ, Novo Mesto, by Kombinat

A line of clerestory windows in the middle of the roof brings mid-morning sunshine into the north-west facing rooms of this wooden house in Slovenia by architects Kombinat (+ slideshow).

"The client wanted a contemporary house with a spacious and bright living area," architect Blaž Kandus told Dezeen, but the building needed to be orientated so the wall of glazing running along the length of the living room and kitchen overlooked the town of Novo Mesto downhill to the north-west.

This meant the living areas would receive little sunlight from the east in the morning so the architects added a row of south-east-facing windows along the edge of one of the building's two mono-pitched roofs.

Split levels following the slope of the hill divide the interior into two halves, with the bedrooms raised up behind the living room.

"There are no corridors in the house to make almost all the floor area usable," said Kandus. Instead, doors lead into each of the bedrooms from the rear of the living room.

On the client's request, the house has a prefabricated timber frame and is clad in vertical strips of larch.

A concrete garage is dug into the ground in front of the house, with a cantilevered roof that shelters a driveway in front.

Slovenian architects Kombinat also recently completed a house with shutters that move like a sliding puzzle.

See more projects in Slovenia »

Photography is Matjaž Tančič and Klemen Ilovar.

Here's a project description from Kombinat:

House MJ, Novo Mesto, Slovenia

House MJ stands on the outskirts on a once undeveloped patch of meadow between residential houses and forest edge. The house stands detached from the road, on the slope higher up, overlooking the town of Novo Mesto.

Due to the views and the configuration of the plot, the house opens towards northwest. With the slight split of levels it adapts to the terrain and at the same time separates the living from the sleeping area.

The house is without corridors, the rooms can be entered from the shifted landing, which is part of the living area. The shape of the roof allows the morning sun from the southeast to light the entrance, bathroom and the living room. The construction is prefabricated timber frame with larch wood facade.

The garage with the carport in detached from the house and stands at the street. It is dug into the slope so as not to obstruct the views from the house. Traces of wooden formwork on the exposed concrete establish a dialogue between the garage and the house.