Going with the flow: ramps and shallow stairs weave a spacious addition into the fabric of a nineteenth-century villa.To preserve the picture postcard view over Lake Bled Lake Bled (Slovenian: Blejsko jezero; German: Veldeser See) is a glacial lake in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia, where it adjoins the town of Bled. , an hour's drive from the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, the local authorities insist that every building and tree visible from the lake be preserved, including a decrepit de·crep·it adj. Weakened, worn out, impaired, or broken down by old age, illness, or hard use. See Synonyms at weak. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin d hillside villa a company president bought for the same enchanting view. He decided to move his family here from an apartment in the capital, invited several architects to make proposals, and selected Ofis on the recommendation of a friend. It was an inspired choice, for Ofis, though it had yet to complete a building at that time, had demonstrated a gift for interweaving old and new and creating fluid interconnecting spaces. Rok Oman and Spela Videcnik established their firm in 1995 after meeting at architecture school in Ljubljana, and set up a satellite office in London when they went there for their Master's at the Architectural Association. They soon began winning competitions--for a remodel re·mod·el tr.v. re·mod·eled also re·mod·elled, re·mod·el·ing also re·mod·el·ling, re·mod·els also re·mod·els To make over in structure or style; reconstruct. of the Ljubljana City Museum (which opened last year, AR December 2004), a cineplex and stadium in the provincial city Provincial cities (省轄市 or 省管市), sometimes translated provincial municipalities, are cities lesser in rank than direct-controlled municipalities of the Republic of China (ROC). of Maribor, and a ground-hugging housing complex in Graz. Just finished is an apartment block with boldly modelled balconies on the Istrian coast (AR April 2005). Le Corbusier Le Corbusier (lə kôrbüzyā`), pseud. of Charles Édouard Jeanneret (shärl ādwär` zhänərā`), 1887–1965, French architect, b. La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. is cited as a major source of inspiration. In Bled, the challenge was to create a generous addition that could not be seen from across the lake. Ofis decided to gut the villa, lower the ground around it by a storey, wrap new living spaces around the exposed base, and insert a staircase that would rise through the central void to the children's bedrooms on the first floor and the master suite on the second. Permits were issued and construction was almost complete when the entire complex was seriously damaged by fire. Work resumed, and the 'old' villa is now a replica that's more solidly built than the original. Ofis has played up the hybrid character of the 1200sqm house, contrasting the plain walls and gabled bays of the villa with the fully glazed, round-cornered plenum that coils like a python Python, in Greek mythology Python, in Greek mythology, a huge serpent. In some myths the infant Apollo slew Python at the oracle of Gaea in Delphi; in others Apollo killed the serpent in order to claim the oracle for himself. around its base. This is extruded into a three-car garage that is half buried and set at a right angle to the house to define a forecourt. Berms formed from the excavated soil shield the entry facade; trees screen the house from the lake, except in winter, and the public footpath is far below. This stealth strategy paid off, giving the owners openness and privacy. A simple plan is enriched by shifts of level, a generosity of scale, and a sense of procession. The family go directly from garage to kitchen, but guests enter though a massive door that is set at an angle to the facade and into a long, enigmatic gallery. Automatic sliding glass doors open to a stepped bridge over a fountain, which provides a soothing murmur murmur /mur·mur/ (mur´mer) [L.] an auscultatory sound, particularly a periodic sound of short duration of cardiac or vascular origin. anemic murmur a cardiac murmur heard in anemia. , and a moat that reflects light up onto the walls. You walk forward to the open living area, which faces south over a wood deck to the lake. Steel columns and expansive glazing provide a vitrine for the inner structure of iroko Iroko can refer to:
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The feeling is that of a rather grand yacht, which is appropriate since the owners spend the summers on their boat, and this sensation is heightened by the play of sunlight off the pool and lake. Panels of studded leather punctuate punc·tu·ate v. punc·tu·at·ed, punc·tu·at·ing, punc·tu·ates v.tr. 1. To provide (a text) with punctuation marks. 2. the panelling. Ramps lead up to the raised areas at either end. To the west, the kitchen is partially enclosed with a screen of translucent glass plates and can be shut off by wood sliders sliders a species of tortoise kept as pets. They have a black shell and a red stripe behind the eye. Called also Chrysemys scripta elegans, red-eared sliders. . The husband's study and library to the east has built-in cabinetry and massive book stacks. The ramps complement the gentle sweep and broad treads of the staircase, which is cantilevered out into the central atrium. Children's bedrooms and bathrooms are laid out symmetrically to either side, and the parents' suite occupies all of the top floor, wrapping around the stair hall. Three round-headed windows in a gabled bay of the villa frame views over the lake, and you can step out onto a balcony with a glass balustrade to immerse im·merse tr.v. im·mersed, im·mers·ing, im·mers·es 1. To cover completely in a liquid; submerge. 2. To baptize by submerging in water. 3. yourself in nature. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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