
. HOUSE B
. Nature plays an important part in the design of this vacation home. The exterior of the house is the antithesis of the forests surrounding Bucsin. The white facades, together with the wooden facades painted in black, draw the eye to the clean volume geometry and the way it fits with the organic lines of the surrounding hills. The interior is a completely different story.
. The interior is almost completely decked in beech wood, from the kitchen to the bedroom to the living room, and it creates a perfect background to showcase the splendid natural landscape that is visible through the big windows. It was one of the biggest challenges architect Cindy Gal and ALSENA Furniture faced in this project: to design and produce all the furniture present in this house in their factory.
. The wood furniture kept the wood’s natural texture and colour, and when mixed together with the natural texture of the brick and stone used inside, it creates a warm, cosy atmosphere, one that is perfect for a vacation. The clients together with the architect have opted for a minimalist design to showcase the best the woods and other natural materials have to offer.
. The living room, the dining room, and the kitchen are part of the open space on the ground floor. To differentiate the zones, Cindy Gal has used different textures for the floors, such as beech wood plans for the living room and ceramic tiles that imitate the terrazzo flooring for the kitchen and entryway. The different heights of the ceiling also represent a subtle barrier between the rooms.
. The furniture is produced entirely of beech veneered chipboard. The windows have determined the furniture’s position and design. In the living room, the storage units covering a wall from floor to ceiling end with a reading nook created in front of the window. The dining table and chairs are part of the NOR Collection and are positioned in front of the other window, next to the fireplace, thus creating a cosy corner for socialising.
. Two floor-to-ceiling cabinets separate the kitchen from the rest of the open space, creating a subtle portal that leads you to the kitchen. The cabinets have plenty of storage space and can be accessed either from inside the kitchen or from the hallway. They also serve as a mask for the structural column and beam that would have been otherwise visible in the living room.
. The black metallic staircase is surrounded on two sides by storage units. One is part of the “kitchen portal” and the other is built in the free space underneath it to serve as storage for cutlery and dinnerware needed in the dining area.
. The kitchen cabinets are made entirely out of beech veneered chipboard, and the metallic accessories are from HAFELE and Blum. The cabinets cover an entire wall and offer plenty of storage room. The fridge and the sink are hidden in the space behind the staircase to keep a clean image of the kitchen even when in use. The white and grey shades of the counter, backsplash and floors temper the rich tones of the wood and create a luminous atmosphere.
. The bedrooms are also designed in a minimalist style. The main bedroom is situated on the ground floor and it has access to an exterior terrace and a hot tub. Besides the queen-sized bed made out of the same beech veneered chipboard, the room is equipped with a wardrobe and a small fireplace.
. On the first floor, the bedroom is bigger and hosts several single beds. The roof structure is visible in the interior due to the big height of the room, and it creates a cosy atmosphere that fits perfectly with the mountain scenery.
. The bathrooms are small but functional. In the main bathroom downstairs, the grey terrazzo tiles on the floor and the green tiles in the shower area remind you of the forests surrounding the house. For the furniture ALSENA used hardwood that is more fitted for such a humid environment. The walk-in shower takes up minimal space in such tight enclosures. The same type of shower and grey tiles are used in the smaller bathroom, together with minimalist furniture.
- . studio: Minimal Architecture
- . team: arh. Anita Cindy Gal, Denes Madaras, alsena
- . Foto: Moldovan Miruna, Hunor Bako (viewcatchers)
- . location: Bucsin, Harghita
- . clients: entrepreneurs
- . execution: 4 months
- . area: 131 sqm