Bench in front of the house as a tribute to traditional surroundings

 

Bench in front of the house 

While designing single-family houses, it is challenging to create communication between the house and its context, making it appear as if the house had always been there. Inspired by the surroundings and the traditional use of pavement as a place of gathering, we designed our houses in Vojvodina by adding a contextual detail – the bench in front of the house.

During the design process for the houses in Bačka, we encountered an interesting clash of different spatial needs – of our clients on one side, and the passers-by on the other. Our response to these contrasting needs is a design which enables the maximum privacy for the tenants of our modern and elegant houses but provides an interaction with the surroundings by styling the boundaries between private and public spaces.

The houses enable maximal comfort for their inhabitants and stand out of their surroundings with straight steady lines, big glass surfaces and precise geometric gestures – corresponding with the contemporary way of life. We’ve tried to turn this particular contrast to the environment into a means of communicating with him. The permitted parameters of high fences in Backa, together with analysis of traditional use of the surrounding area, inspired us to design the fence as a “soft border” connecting private and public space.

Villa Line

Traditional use – contemporary design

In the site analysis, our team recognised the phenomenon of the bench in front of the house as an informal public space for community gatherings. It is this element of the public space which we found to be very specific for the location, and we decided to introduce it into our designs, including them in the scenery of Bačka’s public life. This way, we have established the visual and functional continuity of the street front and connected the traditional element with our modern design.

By redesigning the traditional bench, we created an attractive element of public space, which enables the dissolving of the fence as an obstacle or a strict border. The redesigned fence with the incorporated bench makes the fence appear as a designed background of the pavement, which becomes an inseparable element of both the architectural and social contexts. By extending the architectural elements from the house to the fence, sidewalk and bench, we have created a new visual order that intertwines the vernacular and contemporary styles and offered a new reading of the traditional needs, both of private and public spaces.

Positioning the bench as the first plan of view towards the house establishes new geometric principles within the surroundings, which transcends towards the houses as a form of an awning of Villa Line, which accents the entrance and the facade, as well as the geometrical detail arraying on the fence and façade of Villa Frame.

Villa Frame

Privacy of the house

By defining a symbolical relationship with the context, we have established a visual gradient of privacy of spaces. Visually the most frequent space is the bench on the fence, in front of the house, creating a semi-private space of the exterior and the fence, while the transition of architectural elements towards the facades defines a completely private space. In this gradation of privacy, we have played with viewing plans, designing subtle transitions from one space to another. The subtle transitions established through citation of surrounding elements redefine the contemporary houses as new landmarks, embedded with nearby influences.

Villa Line

Villa Frame

Contribution to the environment and community

As we strive to create as attractive spaces as possible for work and housing for our clients, it is of great importance to us how our architecture can contribute to both the wider context and emphasize a specific local character through contemporary design. To achieve this task, we look for inspiration in details – from materials, through geometry – to specific habits in the use of space.

It is by introducing these distinctive elements and translating them into the modern design of our projects, that we enrich not only the private life of our clients but also the whole range of daily activities in the public space.