INTEGRATED APPROACH

INTEGRATED APPROACH TO DESIGN

When architecture, interior design and landscape are designed as one whole

The best results come when decisions about architecture, interior design and landscape are developed in parallel, rather than each on its own. This approach to design at PUJO wasn’t created as a predetermined methodology-it grew out of experience.

Our understanding of space largely began through interiors and renovations-working with volumes, structures and openings that were already defined and could no longer simply be changed. It was precisely through such projects that we saw early on how difficult it is to create a truly good space once some of the key architectural decisions have already been made.

You can design an interior down to the last detail, but you can’t simply move a window if the view from the living room isn’t where it should be. You can’t change a house’s orientation if the terrace is left without pleasant shade exactly during the part of the day it will be used most. You can’t easily remove a column that ended up right where the centre of a future composition should be.

That’s why, over time, we shifted toward developing a space as a whole from the very first idea, whenever project circumstances allow. Architecture is then no longer a base to which interior and landscape are added later. All three disciplines are developed together, so decisions in one naturally influence the others.

EDEN RESIDENCE, ZAGREB

Maximizing space on a demanding site
Project: Eden Residence
Location: Zagreb, Croatia
Typology: Multi-family housing / residential building
Main challenge: To make the most of the sloping terrain and achieve maximum usable floor area, with a functional layout of apartments suited to everyday family life.

The site’s distinctive slope was one of the project’s key starting points. Rather than treating it purely as a constraint, the configuration of the plot was used to carefully position the building and rationally organise its levels, aiming to achieve the highest possible quality and largest usable area within the given conditions.

The layout of the apartments was developed primarily through function. The arrangement of rooms, their interconnection and their relationship to outdoor spaces were shaped around the needs of family life, with clearly defined day and night zones, ample storage space and the best possible use of every square metre.

Particular attention was also given to the building’s character. The façade was modernised through a combination of different materials and textures, breaking up the monotony of the larger volume and visually emphasising certain parts of the building. Contemporary elements were complemented with warmer materials and tones, so that despite its clean, modern architecture, the building retains a pleasant residential character.

The terrain, the layout of the apartments and the façade design were all developed as parts of the same idea, with the goal of creating a functional, contemporary building suited to the way its residents live.

DESIGNING WITHOUT LATER COMPROMISES

For us, an integrated approach isn’t only a matter of aesthetic continuity. Its greatest value lies in making key decisions while there is still enough room to change them.

Already at the architectural stage, we think about where the bed, the sofa or the desk will stand, what a person will see upon entering the space, the route they’ll take through the house, where the morning light comes from and where shade will be needed in the afternoon.

The same logic applies to structure. A column, beam or other structural element doesn’t have to be a problem to be hidden later. When interior design and architecture are developed in parallel, such elements can become part of a wall, a shelf, a piece of furniture or an entire spatial composition.

When a particular issue is identified early enough, we don’t have to adapt the space to it afterwards. We can incorporate it into the solution and let it become part of the concept itself.

HUNTING LODGE

A landscape that continues into the house
Project: Hunting Lodge
Location: Ribnjak, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Typology: Residential building, holiday home
Main challenge: Renovating an existing building while preserving and reinforcing its existing structure, with the aim of retaining its character and re-establishing its connection with the mountain setting.

For the Hunting Lodge project, the starting point was the existing house and its relationship to the site. Rather than fully transforming the building, the goal was to revive its spirit through renovation and shape a space that naturally belongs to its mountain surroundings. The existing structure was preserved and reinforced, while the architecture and interior were further developed through materials and an atmosphere characteristic of the setting the house is in.

The organisation of the space grew out of how the house would be used. The ground floor was conceived as the central gathering zone, a place for cooking, longer get-togethers and the wine cellar-while the quieter zones of the house were shaped for retreat, rest and enjoying nature. In this way, the building meets the need for larger gatherings and for more intimate stays alike.

Natural stone, wood, fire and framed views of the landscape connect the interior with its surroundings, without literally repeating the elements of a traditional mountain house. The same relationship to material, warmth and nature runs through different parts of the building and gives the project its distinctive character.

Here, the connection between architecture and interior doesn’t come from the choice of the same materials alone. The renovation, the organisation of space and the atmosphere together restore to the building the character of the place it belongs to.

SPACE THROUGH HABITS AND SEQUENCES

When we talk about life within a space, we don’t mean only functional zones. We’re more interested in the string of small everyday situations that life in a house is actually made of.

It matters that we think about where someone will actually want to sit in the morning, not just where a terrace can be placed on a plan. We don’t look at a façade opening only through its proportions, but also through what will be seen from the bed through it. The same goes for the living room. What matters to us is how one arrives there, what’s seen along the way, and where the view naturally comes to rest.

That’s why we often look at a house as a series of frames rather than as an isolated object. A person enters the plot and first sees a tree, a wall, or just part of the house. Approaching the entrance, they may already glimpse the garden through the glass. They enter the interior, and the view continues through the living area toward the terrace, the pool or the horizon. Once outside again, the perspective shifts once more, and the house that had been the space they were in becomes their backdrop.

Architecture, interior and landscape together determine the way a space gradually reveals itself. That’s why the relationships between these frames matter to us just as much as each one individually.

CASA LUMIN

A house shaped by the view
Project: Casa Lumin
Location: Novigrad, Croatia
Typology: Family villa, holiday home
Main challenge: Renovating an existing building in close proximity to the sea, under strict planning restrictions and the need to achieve a higher-quality, more functional space within the existing building envelope.

The house sits within 100 metres of the sea, which meant the possibilities for intervening on the existing building were very limited. The client wanted significantly more floor area, but building a new structure on this site wasn’t possible. Since the existing two-storey house was legally registered, the renovation allowed the ground floor to be extended, while the upper floor had to remain within its existing footprint. These conditions were largely what determined the house’s position and the layout of its program.

The view toward the sea became one of the key elements of the layout. The living area with the kitchen and dining room was placed on the upper floor, opening onto a view of the coast, while the bedroom wing was organised on the ground floor. Rather than following the usual division by floor level, the layout emerged directly from the qualities the site offered.

A particular challenge was securing a terrace with a sea view, since the building sits almost on the building line. At the same time, it was necessary to keep the existing roof, which in the house’s new design is visually concealed behind a parapet, giving the façade a simpler, more contemporary character.

The connection between the ground-floor bedroom wing and the upper-floor living area was achieved with an external staircase. An element that arose primarily from a functional need became one of the main architectural accents of the exterior and an important part of the house’s identity.

At the rear of the plot, a more intimate zone for family life was organised, with a space for socialising and a pool. Its position takes advantage of the courtyard’s afternoon sun exposure and forms a sheltered outdoor space as an extension of everyday life in the house.

In this project, it was precisely the constraints of the site that tied architecture, spatial organisation and the exterior into a single whole. The view toward the sea, the existing footprint and the way the house is used together shaped the new design and became the basis of its new character.

AND WHAT WE LEAVE EMPTY IS PART OF THE PROJECT

An integrated approach doesn’t mean every part of a plot has to be designed or filled with content. Sometimes the important decision is precisely what we choose not to do. Leaving a view open instead of planting a tree. Not placing a pool where its position might seem most obvious at first glance. Preserving part of the space so that the horizon can open up.

Such emptiness is then no longer unused space-it becomes part of the composition. What lies outside the house naturally enters the interior and influences it just as much as the walls, furniture or lighting.

WE DON’T DESIGN FOR THE EYE ALONE

Landscape further broadens the way we think about space. When developed in parallel with the architecture, vegetation isn’t only what we’ll see through a window. We can use it to create shade, privacy and a microclimate, but also to shape the scent and the sound atmosphere of a particular place.

Vegetation can become a filter between the house and the surrounding sounds, while water can be placed where its sound will accompany a seating area or soften the presence of distant traffic.

Summer and winter sun, morning and afternoon shade, wind, humidity, the scent of plants and the sound of water all shape the way a space is experienced day to day. We think about these elements with the same care as proportion, materials, light and function.

ONE SOLUTION WHERE EACH PART GROWS OUT OF THE OTHER

When we look at a space from multiple perspectives, it’s easier to recognise potentials that aren’t always obvious when each discipline is developed separately.

An integrated approach doesn’t simply mean that one studio shapes different segments of a project. What matters more is that decisions about architecture, interior and exterior are made in parallel, as part of the same whole. That way, we’re not left having to reconcile them afterwards-they develop together from the very start and naturally influence one another.

Because in the end, we don’t experience space through separate disciplines. We experience it as a whole. The essence isn’t in combining services, but in combining decisions.