KURZ architects • Guest apartment in a barn

GUEST APARTMENT IN A BARN

Area 80 m² • Principal architect Zuzana & Jan Kurz • Photo Lucie Fenclová

We have been designing a cozy, atypical and considerate apartment for guests consisting of a main room and a bathroom. It is a modest apartment in its form, yet rich in its spirit, and quietly hides in the building of an old stone barn surrounded by a large orchard. It is built independently of the original barn’s construction, which makes the intended contrast between the old and the new to stand out. From the beginning, it was important to us to use as much healthy, natural materials as possible. This is also the reason why there is only a minimum of glue, insulating foam or concrete. The walls of the apartment are cladded with birch waxed plywood, which is elegantly rounded in the corners of the room. The rounding promotes not only the impression of coziness, but also the ubiquitous peace and harmony. On the ground there is a clay floor finished with waxing, thanks to which it successfully resists moisture. The clay floor is pleasant to touch and creates a healthy environment in the interior, is easy to maintain and does not lose its properties over time. To make this clay floor we used local soil and mixed it with sand fractions and various fillers such as wool, shards, etc. We did not proceed without quality tests, and only when the mixture was mixed to our ultimate satisfaction, we started the process of layering and stamping.

Under the clay floor you will find a foam glass, which is created as a 100% recycled material. Thanks to the large number of glass bridges, compressive strength, non-flammability, low weight, excellent thermal insulation properties, stability over time and, above all, health safety are guaranteed. The living room is divided by a brick partition with a clay plaster and a specific decor, which is created by individual gaps. The gaps have not only a decorative yet also a very practical purpose, as the heat can spread through easily from one part of the room to the other. For the kitchenette we used natural boards pressed from moss by the Organoids company. Their unique scent literally embraces the entire apartment. The space is dominated by large-format, oak windows by Jánošík company with a view to the orchard. The biggest attraction, which you might not see much outside the showroom, is the window located on the south side of the apartment covered with a very delicate, light-permeable, layer of birch veneer. The light penetrating through this uniquely decorated window creates pleasant and impressive shadow games inside the space. The apartment in the barn is a real oasis of peace, and we would love to design, for the benefit of all, more of such projects.

Materiály

Moss • Clay floor • Bricks • Foam glass • Oak • Birch plywood • Roses • Wood fiber • Shingles • Brass • Ceramic tiles • Glass