In 2021, during an interview about our project, Viila Cheia, Anamaria declared, "…because thrifty people never rest on their laurels, Iosif and Laura are envisioning new places to delight your soul and enchant your eyes, places to which we shall also contribute our expertise and all of our heart." As such we got back to work!
All that was left for them to do, because they have already planted trees and are, and have been, amazing hosts, was to build a house and raise a child.
The new project reflects the desire of Laura and Iosif to continue the story that began with Viila Cheia and to add on to a space that honors tradition while embracing contemporaneity.
Today, two years later, we are pleased to present LIV House, a new addition to Iosif and Laura's property in the village of Cheia. Since Viila Cheia began as a singular project, a guesthouse in an orchard, and not as part of a complex or ensemble, the main challenge for LIV House was how this new building would harmoniously integrate into the existing space. It was to engage in a dialogue with the guesthouse and the orchard on one hand, and with the village on the other.
In this regard, the choice of location within the orchard represented one of the main challenges of the project. Three possible locations and morphological conformations were investigated: two near the entrance at the bottom of the orchard and one between the group of walnut trees in its center.
The chosen site is located on the north side of the plot, close to the entrance from the village, in an area with a natural slope and a plateau in a clearing that opens towards the entire orchard and the sun all throughout the day. The house envelops itself around this space, that is at present the living room, unfolding along the natural slope of the land in an east-west direction.
The principles that governed the design of the guesthouse also governed this new project, filtered through the challenge of a tripartite dialogue between the guesthouse, orchard, and village. The rules that guided us were natural and authentic: adaptation to the natural slope of the plot and the consequent connection of most interior spaces with the orchard, the creation of an interior-exterior transition space inspired by a traditional porch, the predominant use of local construction materials, the streamlined form of the traditional house volume, and the ventilated wooden facade and roofing.
All of these, along with Laura and Iosif's attention to detail, have given rise to a contemporary place deeply rooted in archaic traditional values: a "house in the orchard."
Design Team: Paul-Mihai Moldovan, Anamaria Moldovan, Nicoleta Simina, Anamaria Lazar, Marius Indrei, Catalin Popa
Collaborator[s]: Top Proiect, GradInstal
Design Year: 2021-2023
Status: completed
Execution | Completion Year: 2023
Location: sat Cheia, Romania
Gross area: cca. 231 sqm
Text: ateliercetrei
Photographer[s]: YWP - Your work in pictures