A television screen built into the front of the desk gives the unit dual functionality. The steps lead onto a gangway between the two bedrooms. A concrete perimeter wall, imprinted with the grain of wooden planks, encircles the base of the property to distinguish a patch of private garden from the surrounding woodland. Beginning at the upper part of the site, the wall increases in height as it winds its way down the hill, where it conceals a set of steps that lead up to the entrance of the house. This take on a traditional Slovenian cottage by Dekleva Gregorič Arhitekti features cast concrete walls inlaid with chunks of stone to create a rugged texture (+ slideshow). This is intended to pay tribute to the oak forests of the Karst region that have now been desecrated by construction works. The gabled form of the building is replicated inside by two smaller wooden volumes that subdivide the floor plan, framing a living room, kitchen and bathroom on the ground floor and creating two bedrooms upstairs. «When the framework is removed, after one or two days, the builder would eventually remove excessive amounts of concrete to open the surface of the stone.»
The densely-packed stone and concrete walls, punctuated by three large windows, are intended to offer a modern take on the compact stone walls of houses traditional to the Karst region. A staircase with staggered wooden box treads creates a series of individual bookcases that angle over a black writing desk underneath. Photography is by Janez Marolt. «The design of the house addresses the relationship between contemporary and tradition,» said the architect. «It is a 15-centimetre thick facade layer where the builder first lays down a row of stones, with the more or less flat side of the stone against the framework, and than pours concrete behind the row of stones,» said Dekleva. Another intention of the design was to make the facade and roof appear to be made from the same materials – a typical feature in traditional Karst architecture. «The redefinition of the traditional stony Karst roof, with its texture, colour, material and its steep inclination is executed as a contemporary concrete interpretation,» said the team.
