8 BLACKS
Initially planned as a holiday house, at the end of the design process - socially active familys living house. The place drags in to live there. 8 BLACKS consists of: 1. A group of buildings for daily living, located around the paved courtyard and creating center of gravity for the complex, 2. Guest and Sauna house, 3. Cellar sat within relief and ancillary buildings.4. Football and Volleyball field. 8 BLACKS is a modern approach for traditional living complex in Kurzeme adopting the archetypal cross-section as a common element for all buildings.
Expressive nature of the terrain - a swift river, remarkable relief, wind - defined the minimalist form of buildings; they do not compete with nature. Using one material for both - walls and roofs homogenous look of the building is achieved; surface texture and details are reached by the finish of raw wood planking. In contrast of 8 BLACKS the inner courtyard is connected to garage building, made of white polycarbonate and operating as a large lamp and illuminating the yard. Two-storey volume separated by a gallery and a terrace from the rest of the residential building contains a fireplace room on the ground floor and owners working room on the upper level.
Construction of walls in this building is different from other volumes metal frame construction with glass fill and rare wooden siding creates light games in the interior. Wooden boards, opened up towards the river, allow watching it. Final volume of the complex - the gate house will visually complete the private courtyard; it will place a wide, comfortable main entrance with a place for dog and technical equipment room.