An energy-efficient home with a folded roof | ASGK Design

“House Zilvar” is a small wooden house with an unusual shape. The home’s distinctive appearance is the result of what is essentially a shed roof that twists and folds along the length of the house, changing the direction of slope from one end to the other. Located in rural Bohemia, it was designed by Prague studio ASGK Design for a family of three who wanted a small energy-efficient house that would bring them closer together.

The entrance is at one end of the house, together with the bathroom and storage closets. The rest of the 58.0 m² (624 ft²) ground floor is an open living area comprised of an eat-in kitchen in the middle of the house and a lounge space at the far end.

Two separate bedroom lofts overlook the living area, allowing for easy communication between family members. Although both lofts overlook the living area, they cannot be seen from each other; the lowered roof valley in the middle divides the upper volume of the house in two, giving the bedrooms a degree of privacy. Each loft is reached by an industrial-style steel staircase.

The ground floor is pinched in the middle, with an inset terrace pushing into the side of the house. That together with the roof shape results in a very dynamic space where more or less of the interior is visible as you move around the living area. The architects say that the interaction of sunlight with the angular design “dramatically changes the shape of the house and makes you feel like an explorer in a canyon.”

The lounge area consists of a multi-level platform with large windows facing a pond on one side and meadows on the other. There is book and firewood storage under the edges of the raised floors, as well as hatches that provide access to additional under-floor storage.

The house is very well-insulated with 18 cm of mineral wool insulation in the walls covered by 4 cm fibreboard on the exterior. The fibreboard allows the walls to “breathe”; water vapor can diffuse out rather than condensing within the wall cavity. The roof construction is similar but with a thicker layer of fibreboard. All the windows are high-efficiency triple-glazed units.

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Photographs by Petra Hajska, courtesy of ASGK Design.

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