Project: House of Peace in Kaunas
Architects: Svirskis Studio
Location: Sakiai, Kaunas, Lithuania
Area: 2,045 sf
Photographs by: Lukas Mykolaitis
House of Peace in Kaunas by Svirskis Studio
Svirskis Studio designed the House of Peace in Kaunas. It is a beautiful contemporary dwelling designed with a balance between modernity and purity. This single-story residence creates just over 2,000 square feet of modern living spaces with a private yard and a beautiful front garden.
Inspired by the beauty and the simplicity of Lithuania’s natural and raw materials, this house exudes peace. It’s a balanced fusion between modernity and purity. The property, located in a neighborhood in Kaunas, was built all the way along the length of a 1200 m2 terrain, creating a 190 m2 longhouse with a private yard, a wide entrance, and a beautiful front garden with natural big stones and pine trees. The space between the limits of the parcel and the beginning of the construction of the house, allows daylight to brighten the structure and the sun rays to maintain a pleasant warm home.
Since the house is only 4 meters high, it maintains not only privacy but also respect for its surroundings, as it does not block sunlight from neighboring houses. Its length occupies the same space of two nearby houses, but its height allows it to act as a passive sunflower that does its best to benefit from the scarce sun: in the morning the sun rises up the front yard and sets on the backyard. The large openings are carefully positioned in order to take advantage of as much light as possible. The main materials used for the construction were fiber cement blocks, as the foundations of the design, as well as oak, steel, aluminum, and glass.
The common areas such as the kitchen, the main chimney, and the living room combine in the center; while the master bedroom and the other two bedrooms are located at the left end of the house, and, at the other end, the garage assures up to two vehicles. The arrangement on this large single floor house produces a river-like movement, allowing residents to easily travel across different scenarios. A third room gives the house the right complement to a family environment. The divisions allow a family to meet and connect through the different spaces of this concrete oasis.
