A comfortable single-story family house with a year-round livable courtyard and a living room filled with sunlight throughout the day.
The comfortable single-story family house K+10 is centered around an inner courtyard, enclosed on three sides, which enhances both the functional and visual qualities of the interior spaces, particularly the central living hall. All other areas of the house—entry, storage, technical, and residential spaces—are arranged around this described outdoor living space in a U-shaped floor plan open to the southwest. The main entrance to the house, facing the street, is directly connected to the courtyard, allowing visitors to access it without passing through the interior of the house ...
The two-car garage and spacious storage area form a cohesive and functionally connected, unheated entry section of the house. From this section, there is direct access to both the living quarters and the courtyard, which serves as a residential terrace with a summer kitchen. The courtyard includes a green island that can be replaced with an outdoor pool. The entry vestibule, equipped with a wardrobe, leads directly into the central part of the house, featuring a living hall and dining area connected to a kitchenette. In addition to these spaces, near the entrance, there is a utility room with a laundry area and, adjacent to the kitchen, a pantry. The night zone of the house is located in the wing beyond the living hall, connected by a small hallway. This zone includes two rooms suitable as children’s or guest bedrooms, a shared bathroom, and the master bedroom suite. The suite consists of a bedroom, walk-in wardrobe, workspace, and a private bathroom with a toilet and shower. Both bathrooms are naturally ventilated and lit via a small atrium behind the eastern façade wall. The interiors are illuminated by a roof skylight above the living hall, featuring clerestory windows facing east and west. In addition to providing sunlight and natural light to the central part of the house, the skylight gives the living hall greater height, reflecting its role as the most significant space in the home. The windows and glazed walls of the living spaces are oriented to the south, southwest, and east, with the sole exception of the kitchen window above the countertop, which faces north.
From an architectural and artistic perspective, the house’s design clearly reflects its logical and highly rational form, responding to the plot's shape and project requirements. The structure fills the site in a way that divides it into an intimate inner zone with the residential courtyard and outer areas with a green barrier. The house’s materiality and interiors are simple and natural. The entry and technical areas feature a combination of exposed concrete blocks, translucent profiled glass elements, and raw concrete surfaces. The residential sections are finished with refined, textured mineral plaster. Wooden surfaces on the terrace and interior floors, glazed walls with external shading, and greenery enhance the building’s natural ambiance. The single-story design, restrained façade composition, use of materials, slender construction, and horizontal composition all contribute to the understated yet thoughtfully refined character of the K+10 house.
Authors: Braňo Hovorka, Martin Paulíny, Rado Krajňak
Location: Kováčová, Zvolen District, Slovakia
Design and Projects: 2023–2024
Status: Under Construction
