Villa by the sea "The Soul of the Stone"

Latvia

Add To Collection

Other Projects by lolot design

Add To Collection

Villa by the sea "The Soul of the Stone"

Latvia

Firm

lolot design

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2017

SIZE

3000 sqft - 5000 sqft

interior design Santa Meikulane / lolot design
architect Ints Pujats / 5.iela

The holiday home, located right on the shore of the Baltic Sea, is made up of three interconnected pieces. In the course of designing the structure, the names of all three developed organically into the Winter House, the Glass Gallery and the Stone House with the Philosopher’s Gallery. The frontal façade (the driveway and the central entrance façade) forms a laconic architecturally uniform horizontal volume that is characteristic to functionalism.

The total area of indoor space is 390 m2, the outdoor terraces take 100 m2 space.

Two historic buildings from the beginning of the last century (1913) have been integrated in the form of modern architecture, built from beautiful boulders in the style of the historic seaside building. Both volumes have been enlarged with a concrete column structure, large glass window planes, and both buildings are linked by a glass gallery.

The building features a functional, plant, grass and moss-covered roof which is both operational and serves as a fantastic viewing and meditation platform, allowing one’s view to wander far up to the horizon.

The three-story building creates a comfortable courtyard, and the glazed planes provide fantastic views of the sea which can be seen virtually from any part of the volume. The courtyard’s features and nuances resemble the basic principles of the ZEN garden – hundreds of thousands of years old glacial stones have been placed in the courtyard which shape the structure and landscape of the courtyard. These ancient stones do not serve only a decorative purpose – they are at the same time the heroes of an old folk tale and the inhabitants of this building for the next hundreds of years.

The completely uncovered walls of the old buildings have been preserved, thus retaining and introducing the unique coastal, ethnic and artisan construction traditions in the interior.

Natural and region-specific materials – wood, stone and natural sand plaster – has been used in the interior.

The interior of the volume was designed so discreetly in order to respect the surrounding nature, which is an integral part of this interior. The premises feature oak plate floorboards which are typical of the region and a seamless, 7.5 meters long solid oak wood table which was created in Latvia specifically for this project by using ancient artisan woodworking techniques. Over 30 family members can dine at the table at the same time.

The living room tea table is made of a unique “black-oak” – an oak that has laid at the bottom of the seabed of the river Daugava for over a thousand years. The oak’s total age is 1400 years. It was lifted from the riverbed, processed by the author’s technique and now brings unique nuance to the interior.

The furniture in the Glass Gallery and Stone House are usable both indoors and outdoors, thus creating a mutifunctionally comfortable space.

The most significant feature both in architecture and especially in the interior, alongside the historical and contemporary details and finishes, is the various lighting scenarios.

Several types of lighting design were developed for each part of the building and feature the possibility of varying their intensity, which allows to, in combination with the natural sunlight and the natural light from the fireplace, create various unique atmospheres and senses.