Abertamian planes | boq architekti

Apartment House of Seventeen Herbs - project introduction

Your private retreat in the middle of pure nature. It will become the starting point of your walks, hikes, treks and explorations to all corners of the world, as well as the place where you will return from them refreshed, tired or cold to your heated comfort.

WE DON'T LET EVERYDAY WORRIES CROSS THE THRESHOLD

Two main principles,

The guiding principles for the design of the House of Seventeen Herbs are the cleanliness and friendliness of the interior, which embraces its inhabitants with a feeling of comfort, and the maximum sophistication of the functional elements throughout the house, which turn this feeling into reality. Each apartment is thus conceived as a complete space that allows you to leave the cycle of everyday worries behind and invite your mind and senses on a holiday. In addition, the building is adapted for the operation of common operating services, so that even if the apartments are subsequently rented out, their owners will not have to worry about the practicalities of everyday life.

Jana and Miroslav Stach
Boq architects

The two main principles that guided your design were cleanliness and a welcoming interior. How did you translate these into the implementation?

We have worked with a clear concept based on a meaningful layout. The individual spaces are designed as efficiently as possible, trying not to waste space, but at the same time maintaining a certain airiness.

Abertamy and its immediate surroundings are characterized by meadows and vast plains, which are associated with freedom, liberty, and leaving your worries behind. The design concept of the house is based on the herbarium principle - each apartment is dedicated to one herb, which is reflected in the interior both visually and in the materials used.

Thanks to your focus and team of architects and designers, you had the opportunity to participate in the visual identity of the project. How does it relate to architecture for you - for example, do you see it as another dimension to present your vision or concept for the building?

It is definitely a direction we are pushing on all our projects. We work with skilled graphic designers and editors and thanks to this we are able to bring our vision to a wider audience and help investors sell or lease space.

A meaningful logo in combination with well-designed and clear websites should be the basis of every project and its communication to the public.

When it comes to interiors, you often reach for natural materials and a particular colour that carries through the entire interior. How do you work with the colour and texture of the materials?

A meaningful logo in combination with well-designed and clear websites should be the basis of every project and its communication to the public.

Those interested can choose one of the 17 apartments and spend their free time there or rent it out - two different approaches to using the space. How did you manage to combine them?

The approaches may be different, but they are not different in essence. The emphasis has been on creating shared and community spaces. A secure bike room with a charging station for electric bikes and a bike wash, heated boxes for skis and skis, a sauna with a relaxation room or a common laundry room are elements that visitors always appreciate.

In both cases, however, visitors escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Did you approach interior design differently than when you create an interior that becomes the primary home of its inhabitants?

We took a very similar approach, but we emphasized the versatility of the implementation. Thus, kitchens and bathrooms were created according to the same rules, the dimensions were unified to a certain extent in order to enable serial production in 2-3 design variants.

In your realisations you pay attention to the context of the place. How did the Ore Mountains influence the final realisation?

Pure, peaceful, balanced and healing nature, represented by herbs, permeates the interior and the house becomes a part of it; the inhabitants are in direct contact with nature and can draw strength and energy from it.

The project is almost sold out, are you planning another similar project?

We are working on several other projects in the Erzgebirge. I will mention, for example, the Crossroads House, which is the reconstruction of a historic building and its extension.