Atelier SAD and Iveta Zachariášová create cork-clad house

Atelier SAD and Iveta Zachariášová create cork-clad house in Czech countryside

Architecture studio Atelier SAD and interior designer Iveta Zachariášová have created a cork-clad family home in the Czech Republic, which was embedded into a grassy ridge.

Atelier SAD and Zachariášová chose to clad the rural house in cork due to its thermal and weather-resistant properties, which it benefits from in its exposed setting.

Aerial photograph of house and road — The house is set against a steep ridge

The house is orientated along a contour line at the foot of the Ještěd Ridge, overlooking the Bohemian Paradise Protected Landscape Area.

"The landscape is open, dominated by flowering, unfenced meadows," said the designers. "The view and the integration of the interior spaces into the landscape was one of the main motifs driving the house design process."

Photograph showing cork-clad end of house with front door — The front door is accessed by steps down the embankment

The house is partially set into a grassy embankment, which is topped by a road that allows part of the roof to act as a parking space. It was surrounded by an irregular cluster of vernacular pink granite stones.

"The slender mass of the house cuts diagonally into the steep slope of the road, and the ridge seems to slope down into the garden," the designers added.

Photograph showing countryside house with horse in front — The house is nestled between the ridge and the open landscape

The remainder of the roof is made from pitched aluminium sheets and features a gable that projects out at one end to create a covered terrace overlooking the unfenced garden.

Areas of the facade which are not glazed are clad in Portuguese expanded cork applied in vertical strips of varying widths – the first application of its kind in the Czech Republic, according to the designers.

Photograph of open plan interior in evening — Sliding glass doors bring the outside in

A triangular glazed partition that echoes the form of the gable extends to separate the terrace from the interior, wrapping around the front of the space to open up a view over the meadows.

The glass panels can slide to open the space physically as well as visually.

An open-plan kitchen, dining and living space was orientated around a suspended fireplace and is overlooked by a secondary living space on the mezzanine floor.

The concrete walls and floors are punctuated by furnishings sourced primarily from furniture companies Konsepti and Ligne Roset, providing a playful edge to the otherwise functional space.

Photograph showing dining area with large windows — Functionalist furniture allows the landscape to become the focal point of the interior

Bedrooms, bathrooms and storage areas share the pared-back look of the main area, and are arranged along a straight corridor towards the front door.

"The interior design of the house with the internal layout of the rooms may have been created earlier than the house itself," said Zachariášová. "Many of the functional aspects were clear from the outset, and we basically only dealt with their alignment."

"This is how the entire project was gradually born – with respect for local traditions, history, materials and the surroundings," added the studio.