Contemporary home in Prague incorporates a green roof, adding a speck of green to an urban dwelling

Located in the Hlubocepy district in Prague, Czech Republic is a family home alongside a wildlife corridor. Designed by RO_AR architecture studio, the home features a concrete roof topped with grass, and is intended to be a “bridge between the urban and the natural”. The home is meant to be a “clash of two geometries” and features a rectilinear form clad in thin oak slats.

Designer: RO_AR Architecture

“Urban space surrounds the site on the south and east sides. It is a chaotic and random development, often adversely affecting the value of the terrain. We designed a building that was created by the method of land deformation. The terrain was to transition smoothly from the north-west side into an artificial ‘hill’ into which the house was to be placed,” said studio founder Szymon Rozwałka.

Reminiscent of a hill, the grass-topped structure features a ground floor with an interesting carved form to accommodate a garage and an entrance sheltered by an overhanging first floor. A paved path connects the side of the house to the garden. The front of the home has a white render finish, and a oak batten cladding to provide privacy. While the back end of the home opens into the garden via fully-glazed facades.

“The home seeks to extend the natural context into the interior of the site and into the interiors. It becomes an abstract body that, through its form and scale, corresponds to the surrounding rocks in the background,” said Rozwalka. The first floor of the home features a room that expands into a small terrace, that is hidden from the surrounding properties with the help of a concrete wall. A paved patio has been placed outside the living area, and it faces a small pond.

The roof of the home is an exposed board-marked concrete ceiling from within, dotted with large skylights wherever the curves intersect. Concrete walls within the home are contrasted with wooden ceilings, staircases, black-metal frames, furniture, and fittings. The family house is a modern concrete wonder that also manages to beautifully incorporate a speck of green, and add a bit of nature to an otherwise urban dwelling.