OTIO, House in Rectory
Otium is a Latin word meaning free time or vacation. A house which has been given such a name must be a blessed place where you can relax and charge new energies after a day of work. The house is being blessed by its own occupier a catholic priest. Dráovce is a small village close to Nitra. It is a quiet and green place where the treetops breathe a majestic atmosphere. We are now entering the parish garden dominated by the Roman Catholic church of Francis Xavier. From the green at the back of the garden emerges a stone wall a monument. It is a house called Otio which at first sight looks modest and reserved. One feels to be floating between the past and the present. We come closer and there is a floating symbolic cross above our heads that supports a small glass shelter. A large saddle roof with gentle slope literally grows out of the stone wall. There is a stunning simplicity of the most fundamental building components the wall and roof. When entering the house we are expecting a dark spiritual atmosphere similar to biblical imagery in light and dark. However, we are surprised by a beautifully illuminated interior. There is a natural flow from the small hall going all the way to the living room. White walls and light stone flooring is accompanied by built-in furniture. The self-
centred introvert opens up his soul through the large glass wall overlooking the atrium. A gentle turning of the wall on the floor plan allows a direct view of the church tower which holds a symbolic meaning of connecting the present with the past as well as a practical function. The house is a composition of spaces which pays attention to the traditional aesthetic principles. The neat right angle disposition is naturally divided into the day zone and the night zone. In addition, the cut of the floor plan brings the austere minimalist aesthetics into sculptural formation. Visual connection of the priest s house with the church tower was a simple artistic aim emphasized also by the slightly descending wall dividing the atrium and the parish garden. In this way the house has settled in the environment without any disruptions and is breathing the sculptural atmosphere enhanced by the place itself.