Classic Bohemian Home

On the border between Austria and the Czech Republic, where the Iron Curtain once a grand partition, one of the most unique nature reserves in the world to have populated and heavily modified by humans since the Middle Ages offers . This is an unusual point of pride for a biological sanctuary, but locals say the conservation area in South Bohemia T?ebo?sko is a case study in harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

Tourists flock from neighboring countries to the largest reserves of Trebon, but small groups of houses on the outskirts of the city remained untouched by tourists and free from development for decades. If Prague architect Martin Bu?i?ová and Stepan Kubicek commissoned a new home in one of these remote villages to build their vision should be tempered by the region’s long architectural conventions. “The other houses in the village are brick buildings with gabled roofs ground floor,” says Kubicek. “The village was virtually inaccessible 1948-1989. So there were no new developments during the last century. ”

Bu?i?ová Kubicek and proved that creativity flourishes within certain limits, to design a home that combines elegance with the strict guidelines of city building owners with a preference for a modern and environmental responsibility. The structure was to a certain level (including basement and attic permitted use) is limited, not exceeding 12 cm higher above the ground. It could help, stucco single or double-color on all exterior walls and red tile roof and gray. Skylights had to be over 20 meters away, with additional natural light skylights tilted strongly against the gable symmetrical between 38 and 45 degrees.

Given these limitations, we would expect a result set, but the house of 3000 square feet to the height of his “Bohemian” of identity: It is original, progressive and largely independent of Behemoth, that the Convention, the city operates. The region offers a natural geothermal energy, renewable energy source through the three holes available up to 300 meters into the earth. Heat pumps in combination with solar panels, providing 90 to 95 percent of the house needs heat.

Geothermal energy has been since the early 20th Century was used. In areas of high activity underground steam and geysers, like Iceland or California, you can power on a large scale power plants dedicated to renewable resource to be distributed. When steam is rare, as in T?ebo?sko, geothermal heat pumps simply capitalize on the differences in temperature between the outside air and the ground several hundred meters deep.

Bu?i?ová Kubicek and contain a system of a foundation called the Swedish IVT heat pump. The device according taps warm temperatures of the rock at depth, to transfer heat to the house by the compression of a non-toxic liquid through tubes. Thermostats send signals to the pump to keep up with demand and save energy. If the pump is not working alone, not a kettle of water on the house and the pool is heated by solar panels on the roof of the garage. “Originally there was a plan to build a small hydroelectric plant on the river near Kubicek said.” Secure the full energy independence, but this idea was abandoned because of investment costs and complicated licensing procedures. “Nevertheless, the house a model of efficiency in a village where the technology of alternative energy are scarce, mainly due to a lack of state subsidies, which generally include a guess high costs.

Architects: Št?pán Kubí?ek, Martina Bu?i?ová

Location: T?ebo?sko, Czech Republic