Location: Brumov-Bylnice, CZ
Investor: Kloboucká lesní a.s.
Year: 2022
Author: Filip Cerha, Jan Vondrák
Build-up area: 475,7 m2

Kloboucká´s lodge

The sounds of heavy equipment have been quiet for some time now. The Wallachian hills now seem to be dressed in hats knitted from wool colours of earth. In the shadow of the new building, the farmhouse still has its representative place. That's why the coat of arms. It makes it precious, adds to it and sheds some of the layers it has put on over the years.

The building will serve as a meeting place for guests, employees and the company's management. When first seen from the outside, the visitor will not feel a significant change. It is hidden inside. A distinct change in the support system, previously hidden underneath the weight of the false cladding, is once again exposed to the light of day and revealed in its full glory. Use of the material palette we already know from the building next door enhances this impression and creates the visitor an unexpected sense of symbiosis between these seemingly diametrically opposed buildings. The evolution that timber construction has undergone can suddenly be observed from a short distance away by looking at both buildings at the same time. The timber structures are more massive, reach larger dimensions and heights, an advance that would not have been possible without the Kloboucká lesní.

The apartment, which is on the first floor, belongs to the management of the company. Its layout opens up, rearranges itself and takes full advantage of the potential of the grove. The spacious apartment is equipped with a bedroom and a guest room for visitors. Island seating and a new connection to the adjacent garden, which the timber-framed houses could not previously accommodate, add to the sense of openness.

The floors now boast a rich green colour, the old structures are revealed and the new furniture, in indirect connection with the new building, evokes a sense of calmness.

On the next floor and in the attic, six small flats are built, encompassing the essentials for long and short stays in Brumov-Bylnica. However, they do not anchor but on the contrary they support the approach of the whole company in their operation. The common facilities of the sauna together with the relaxation room and laundry room creates this symbiosis to the smallest detail.

The new house is made of Jizera wood and Rudolf granite. The building is axially divided into two apartments. One can enter the house through a stone underground part, where there is a common facility for storing and servicing skis or bicycles. The ski room is connected to the private areas of the apartments. Guests can go up one floor to the living floor with kitchen, dining room and lounge, or use the sauna, which is ready to let tired athletes rest. One floor up is the already mentioned living area.

The reconstructed Kloboucká hájovna together with the new administrative headquarters demonstrates a shift, that building with wood has made. This progress is unstoppable. And who knows, maybe in a few years we will be we'll stand back and watch a third building that will again surprise us with its unexpected dimensions and design. Technology is advancing faster than the price of a pint of beer at the local pub. We are at the beginning of a revolution in building forms, and it's only a matter of time before our transformation of the grove other buildings on the Kloboucká campus and we will once again be able to showcase new practices that have not even we don't know ourselves. What we know for sure is that they will all be based on the same values and principles. After all, it's about wood!