Casa pe stanca

2023

A lovely elegant home created for a lovely family. The main feature of the house is the orientation towards the view, and the architectural positioning over a massive stone bolder.

The warm tones, the carefully curated atmosphere, gives us as architects the joy of creating such spaces, for clients that understand and enjoy our process, despite the bureaucratic difficulties that arise.

Site positioning is a very important step in our process, we usually try out different positions based on the clients priorities, light exposure, site constraints, vegetation or views.

The configuration of the plan is not merely a result of the architecture, it's created with intent, while changing and molding the house to the needs of its users. The house creates a multitude of interactions with the outside garden - a front landscape garden, a protected space underneath the overhanging of the house, and an intimate garden with a pool behind the main volume of the house, towards the South.

Walking from the site main entrance towards the back of the garden becomes a landscaping and sensory experience.

An open living plan, with big windows towards the beautiful garden and view is what will ensure that the garden is a strong presence in the house. The difficulty of combining a Northern main view, with an orientation towards the setting sun, and towards the garden has generated a wonderful challenge for our team.

From an energy efficiency point of view, the house is certified as Nzeb, but it has many Passive house elements, including a thick insulation system, with no thermal bridges, highly efficient windows, installed on the outside of the structure, ventilation system, and a heat pump system and energy storage and reuse systems, BMS, and many others.

Team: arh. Andreea Morarescu, arh. Cosmin Morarescu, arh. Rodica Luchian, arh. stag. Georgiana Musa

Renders: Sooner-viz

Brief :

The site bureaucracy and existing development, meant that an urban planning step was required.
The site has a very unfavorable geological stability, meaning creating a deep foundation and underground levels was imposed.
The complicated bureaucracy, and approvals for a slightly atypical positioning, meant an urban planning phase was also necessary.
The prime location of the site means an emphasis on the view towards Cluj-Napoca was the most important feature that had to be checked, and secondly, a positioning that ensures a view towards the setting sun was ideal.
The design has to be a premium contemporary style, with the latest technological and architectural features incorporated in the project.
The site constraints, and Northern orientation, meant that we had to get creative with the way we positioned the house, in order to create a perfect orientation towards the view, a perfect walking experience through the landscape, and a private Southern pool area and lounge space.
One of the first discussed criteria. We settled on an Nzeb standard, cost-wise we had to adjust expectations. We incorporated a thick insulation system, with no thermal bridges, highly efficient windows, installed on the outside of the structure, ventilation system, and a heat pump system, all in a well sealed structure.