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Casa de mi Luna by Studio Circle Growth

Studio Circle Growth uses traditional forms and materials for Czech home

The form of a traditional rural Czech dwelling is contrasted with modern pine-lined interiors at Casa de mi Luna, a home designed by architecture practice Studio Circle Growth.

Due to its location on the edge of the Česky Kras nature reserve southwest of Prague, the project was required to visually blend in with the local vernacular, with regulations specifying a simple gable-roof form with rounded eaves.

Studio Circle Growth has created Casa de mi Luna

Adopting these requirements, Studio Circle Growth then subverted them on the interior, which eschews the traditional compartmentalisation found in rural homes for open, bright living areas.

"When we got the paper with morphological regulations for the area, I thought gee, what a drag, a symmetrical gable roof with a prescribed pitch between 35 to 45 degrees, prescribed length-to-width ratios, prescribed colours and so on," said Studio Circle Growth's founder Martin Zizka.

The home references traditional rural Czech dwellings

"But then we kind of completely embraced them, especially when we saw the finished symmetrical red gable roof protruding in the landscape amongst the other similar houses, it began to feel right," Zizka told Dezeen.

"The interior, however, is anything but traditional, in its lightness, openness and organic organisation," he continued.

It has modern wood-lined interiors

Casa de mi Luna is constructed from prefabricated straw and timber panels, which were quickly assembled on site.

Attempting to use as many local materials as possible, Studio Circle Growth finished the exterior with a base of larch planks and lime render above. Meanwhile, the roof is lined with traditional tiles called bobrovka.

Inside, the home is organised around a large open-plan living, dining and kitchen area with a staircase and glazed tile-clad fireplace.

"The entire central bay of the house is open, allowing the place where it is connected vertically to breathe and bathe in light," said Zizka.

"The staircase thus becomes a central feature which not only connects the two levels, but separates the ground floor into distinct yet open and interconnected functional zones," he added.

Some walls feature white stucco

The internal walls of the ground floor are finished in white stucco, and the upper level is almost entirely lined in pine-plywood sheets, which also cover the arched apex of the roof.

"We decided to negotiate an arched collar tie out of plywood with our structural engineer, which we could then clad in a more seamless way," explained Zizka.
Pine dominates the top floor

Other homes in the Czech Republic recently featured on Dezeen include a red timber-clad cabin by Byró Architekti, and an undulating, grass-topped home on the edge of a forest by RO_AR.

The photography is by Fredrik Frendin.

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