two-level private house of 380 m2 in the outskirts of Riga Uldis Lukshevits, Ivars Lapins

Passing the gallery

A photo: Peter Lebedev

Text: Nadezhda Nadimova

Stylist: Alexey Onishchenko

Architect: Uldis Lukševics, Ivars Lapins

Magazine: N4 (93) 2005

This private house, built in Marupe, one of the prestigious suburbs of Riga, looks ascetic and rational. There is not a single gram of sentimentality, not a hint of pastoral motifs. However, according to one of its creators, Uldis Lukshevits, it was the pictorial environment that determined the image and character of the building. For the construction of a new house was bought an old plot with a luxurious apple orchard, which has a half-century history. “This picturesque garden, which is different at different times of the year, brought us to the idea of ​​some kind of architectural antithesis, the opposite of the changing world of nature,” says Uldis Lukševics. Thus, a rectangular prism of a house appeared - a kind of apotheosis of a smooth plane and a right angle, really the opposite of the bizarre pattern of the surrounding trees. In this context, the rejection of natural materials in favor of technocratic concrete and steel became logical. And yet the essence of the project is not in contrast (or rather, not only in contrast), but in that clearly tangible intimate dialogue that is conducted between the house and its surroundings. Balconies, wooden terraces for rest and meals, a canopy adjacent to the house, where you can take shelter from sudden rain during the summer holidays - all these elements organically connect the house with its surrounding area. Perhaps even more than outside, this connection is felt inside the house. The concrete wall divides the building into two functional zones: the southern two-story and the northern one-story blocks. Incidentally, this wall works not only as a separating and structural element, but also as a heat accumulator that helps to maintain uniform temperature throughout the house. On the north side outbuildings and utility rooms (garage, boiler room, etc.), on the sunny south - living rooms. A spacious living room with huge windows (there are fully glazed walls in the lower tier) occupies the southeast corner of the house. Perhaps it would be inaccurate to say that a wonderful view of the apple orchard opens from here. Rather, through these transparent walls, the garden penetrates into the living room, becoming its integral part. As for the interior decoration of living rooms, the famous “less means more” of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (one of the fathers of radical functionalism) is the best way to describe these interiors. Minimum of bright color: the color is based on a combination of gray, white, ocher tones. A minimum of functional, ascetic furniture in its forms. Only the massive black chairs in the living room (perfectly matching the strict geometric architecture) are far from asceticism. They bring the necessary for the living room element of chic, respectability, comfort. But on the whole, the objective world of this house gives way to space and light everywhere. The decor here is virtually absent: it is successfully replaced by a spectacular combination of materials and their textures (polished steel, concrete, light wood). But the main decoration and decoration of the house remains an old garden outside the windows.Uldis Lukševics: "In this work, we used contrast as the main design technique. Heavy and light elements, dense and transparent materials, fragile and powerful forms, cold and warm colors ... Through this contrast, we sought to come to a certain unity, first of all to the unity of architecture and nature, the two opposite, in fact, began. "