Underwater House and Exercise Barn

The location of the transparent pool above the living room made the water an integral part of the house. By raising the 23m pool to a higher level, we avoided creating a barrier between the house and the garden. From the living room we can go directly to the terrace and then to the Exercise Barn . In this way, we created a spectacular view from the interior of the day zone – both of the beautiful landscape and  the water that filters the sunlight. The glazed pool here became a roof over the terrace, which is an extension of the two-level living room. The pool is accessible from the upper terrace located at the level of the entrance and driveway to the house. Here we located the garage and the night zone – directly adjacent to the water surface, which will correspond with the beautiful view.

The pool and the house interpenetrate each other. Water becomes a part of not only the living area, kitchen and dining room but also the entrance hall, the circulation system – the winding staircase and the mezzanine, the master bathroom , bedroom, kitchen, dining room and even the garage!

The house is topped with a minimalist form of a hermitage – a contemplative space. Its subtle inclination in relation to the direction of the house is to emphasize not only the attractive view but also to constitute a dynamic dominant for the entire complex, which in form and material corresponds to the Exercise Barn located at the opposite end of the plot.

An additional feature of the project is the ease with which the residence can be adapted to function as a hotel with 11 apartments. This adaptation will not require any intervention in the house’s structure or the layout of the glazed façades. Only internal partition walls will need to be remodeled.

The roof of the house will be covered with a solar-slate system that generates energy comparable to solar energy. The finishing material here is not solar panels but an aesthetic stone tile. An electronically controlled grid system will also be used. One will control the light intake and view openings from the glazed garage, while the other will regulate the level of sunlight on the terrace and in the living room.

In the immediate vicinity of the terrace, we designed a shaded garden that will be another interesting space, serving as an intermediate form between the interior of the house and the exterior garden.

Located at the far end of the plot, the Exercise Barn is a building housing a gym, sauna, bathroom, and an outdoor bath tub. The barn was designed in such a way that the gym space can take the form of an open, covered area in the summer, thanks to the ability to slide back three transparent walls.