Renovation of Čebokelj Homestead in Hruševje
The homestead stands on the path from the 17th century church of St. Daniel, which is protected as sacred building heritage, to the water hole with a chapel at the end of the village. As Leon Belušič, architect and associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana, points out, the renovation has touched an important point of the village and its identity, and the investor has also felt the importance of preserving the heritage. The layers of time were revealed in the built structure, and dialogue with the contractors, understanding of traditional skills, technology, details and sensitivity to context were key to the renovation. “The inspiration of this space led us to design a kind of dispersed hotel consisting of three houses. We tried to preserve the old in the new as much as possible. The concept is based on an interplay of dualities that are clearly manifested in the volumetric, structural, material and programmatic design. The story of the homestead, where wheat was once grown, merged with the story of the investor, a restaurateur who is in love with cuisine and gastronomy,” says Belušič. The wheat grain that becomes bread is symbolically summed up in the concept of the new catering facility, which is a house within a house – the seed is abstracted as a wooden nested structure. This ‘grain’ contains relaxation areas with a library and space for private parties, and the vertical bars that frame this domestic space are reminiscent of ears of wheat. It offers views of local features, including Nanos and, in the future, a wheat field.
