Architects: Skupaj Arhitekti
Area : 100 m²
Year : 2016
Photographs : Janez Marolt

The House in the protected Alpine village of Stara Fužina is located in the Triglav National Park and addresses the traditional environment with author’s interpretation of characteristic local details.

Standing elegant on a steep hillside the house, by its attractively oriented position, catches spectacular and commanding views across the topographically diverse glacial valley.

The house is erected in place of a former car repair workshop. The roof ridge of the new house rotated 90 degrees from the original. It runs rectangularly to the steep hillside in order to make the most of both sunny warmth and spectacular views.

There were some agreements reached with the Slovenian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage who take care of heritage protection in urban and rural settings and of architecture preservation in old Alpine villages.

The authority allowed the change based on the explanation that the village has been naturally-generated and developed throughout the history following the logic of individual micro-locations.

A special attention has been focused on jutting roofs. Their design conception follows the rural pragmatism, hence they have different depths to meet the function;

A longer jutting roof is above the entrance of the northern facade and another above the glass window of the southern facade (protection against sunshine).

They are visible on account of their slenderness which is further emphasized by a thin fibre cement grey roof covering and a supporting structure made of cross-glued board plates.

The wood used for structural and furniture applications on and in the house is native larch, oiled or waxed. The stone used is local building stone.

All metal elements are made of galvanized metal sheet and author designed. The gutters, for instance, have preserved the traditional motif of wooden gutters laid on wooden eave hooks.

The motif is abstracted and transferred into another material. The V-shape gutters match with steep roof pitches of the old village in the background and with the glacial valley of the same shape in the distance.