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| Photo: Ales Jungmann |
Jestico + Whiles has completed a luxurious private villa in the centre of a village close to Prague in the Czech Republic: a five-bedroom family home that marries a contemporary aesthetic with advanced environmental design, and cutting-edge intelligent home technologies.
Fully integrated into the surrounding landscape, the design fuses the home’s minimalist spaces with physical connections to its gardens. A transparent south-facing facade allows natural light to flood throughout the living space without any overheating or glare in summer thanks to balcony overhangs and a cantilevered roof.
A large skylight on the upper level is designed to break up the facade on the second floor and highlight the division of spaces into master wing and children’s wing. The skylight also brings light deep into the ground floor and frames a picturesque pocket garden visible from the master bedroom. In contrast, the north facade is defined by a mosaic of windows, each offering a unique view of the garden.
Kitchen and dining spaces are located next to the living room and designed to provide a contemporary heart to the family home. The hi-tech kitchen uses button-free technology and carbonated water runs directly from the kitchen tap.
A natural oak staircase connects the three levels of the house and appears to float in the naturally-lit, triple-height space. Downstairs a gym and spa, featuring a state-of-art-sauna and Jacuzzi set in marble, offer beautiful views of the landscaped garden through large windows. Upstairs, bedroom and bathroom spaces look on to the south-facing garden and private terrace. LED lighting is cleverly integrated within the rain-drip detail along the edge of the roof.
A separate and fully-glazed garage structure showcases the owner’s impressive collection of cars and is visible from the garden and games room.
Throughout the project Jestico + Whiles used traditional materials. The facade is a combination of light grey stucco and cement-based panels. Windows are triple-glazed with composite timber frames and coated aluminium frames. Outdoor terraces use a thermo ash finish that will turn grey over the next few months to match the bleached oak floor with a grey oil finish. Within the minimalist internal volumes natural textures such as marble, leather and timber are deployed.
The building incorporates extensive smart features and uses the very latest technologies to allow the owners to control lighting, security and audio/visual elements from their iPhones and iPads. Automatically optimised temperature control uses live data from the house’s weather station to provide maximum energy efficiency. The villa has been awarded a high-level ‘A class’ European Energy rating, thanks to a highly-insulated shell and triple-glazed windows. Heat pumps are used in combination with solar panels for heating, cooling and hot water.
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