Dacha’s Origami, an all-white summer house outside Russia, includes everything, from a teeter-totter to a sunken bathing area. Well, almost everything. It appears to have no windows or doors. The home was designed by Peter Kostelov as part of the Russian TV program Dachniy Otvet, in which clients and designers meet only once to exchange ideas. Kostelov’s clients wanted a structure that could accommodate their active lifestyles, giving the architect only one real limitation: no basketball courts! Read more.

The building is open to the elements with only rolled-up blinds sheltering the wall openings if need be. The family has a strong sports background, so Kostelov’s inclusion of a small gym in the form of horizontal bars, and a sauna seem appropriate. The mix of horizontal and vertical structural elements help to filter light through the space while also sheltering the residents from the weather.

According to the designer, the territory was divided into five functional zones:

1. The swimming and bathing zone has a pool, a shower, and a bucket for dousing after sauna. A small overpass adjoins this zone with a well to get water from. A significant detail of this area is a solar battery, which contributes to an environmentally sustainable usage of the watering system, especially when it comes to unpredictable Moscow weather.
2. The lying-in-the-sun zone has a few beach beds, podiums, and armchairs; there must be a shelter to hide from the sun, to relax, to read a book, etc.
3. The gym has simple but enhanced sport facilities: horizontal bars, parallel bars, “health disks,” and swing, badminton, and volleyball playgrounds. There also must be a referee’s chair. Finally, a chest for changing clothes and towels and other things is a must.
4. Kitchen and dining room should have a small kitchen, grill-barbecue, firewood stock, dinner table, summer cinema, and stereo-system and hammock chair.
5. Observation point is in fact the second level, which is intensively used for sunbathing. So there are a few check beds and watering system.

Photography via Zinon Razutdinov

[via dezeen]

by Ashley Wells

posted in Uncategorized

tagged dacha, exercise, model, Moscow, no doors, no windows, Peter Kostelov, russia, seasonal, summer home, summer house, White

more articles by Ashley Wells