Imenje House

The new family home stands on a ridge between a former hayrack and a granary, firmly anchored in the hillside. With its oblong shape, it stretches out over the ravine towards the views of distant hills. The preserved granary was a key anchor point for the spatial composition of the homestead. A path winds around it from the road, past the neighbours, turning into a sheltered courtyard. Where the granary and the new house come closest, the entrance to the house and the passageway beneath it, leading down the stairs, branch off. The most grounded parts are the house core with the kitchen and dining room, facing east, where the day begins. Meanwhile, the living areas stretch towards the views across the extended terrace beneath the overhanging roof above the ravine. This is also the look of the house from a distance: stretching out from the hillside and seemingly hovering. Beneath it, following old custom, is a space to store the firewood used to heat the house. The feelings of being rooted in the earth and of hovering above it intermingle, creating a constant dialogue of contrasts that one never tires of. These are complemented also by the contrast between the heavy granary, built of stone and roughly plastered, and the lighter house, built of wooden logs – soft, smooth, inviting.