I C A R C H 

Does the retired Michelangelo time travel? It is quite possible! Let’s imagine what would happen if this genial artist moved to our reality – what would he do, how would he spend his time here, where would he live? Designing a house for such a person would not be an easy task. Its location would be significantly important. A Renaissance man would not be able to move to a modern metropoly just like that. He would need time and quietness – a place, where he could think everything over and put it in order, accustom himself to a new reality.

The topic of the project is the experiment about transformation and attempt of maximal usage of the landscape and nature, creating a place to live with minimal interference in natural environment of certain territory. The created residence is slightly different from a usual definition of a detached house. It is rather an attempt of referring to previous ages, the origins of different civilizations, when the society just began to seek the sense of security and stability. In conjunction with new technologies and materials, it introduces a very daring idea about inserting (and even hiding) the architecture in the interior of a natural hill.

The project is based on tunnels hollowed out in rock, which connect in the central point of the hill. Their directions are the effect of the sides if the world analysis – moving sun (the lighting during different times of a day) and attempt of the most efficient usage of the landscape. Each of the projected fractions has a particular function, which is based on individual needs of the owner, his interests and lifestyle.

The form of the building is a continuation of the project decisions made earlier, so it follows the famous statement of Mies van der Rohe: “Form follows function”. The shape of the hill, the range of the transformed land, sides of the world orientation and views – in this case, everything has a significant influence on the visual perception of the project.