Gaiss tops red home in Latvia with corrugated metal roof
Red-painted timber walls and a white corrugated metal roof form the "bold and distinctive" exterior of House Comet, a family home in Riga, Latvia, designed by local architecture studio Gaiss.
Named after its location on Komētas Iela, or Comet Street, in Riga's suburbs, the 175-square-metre home is a contemporary take on a traditional Latvian barn, informed by its surroundings where urban and rural meet.
"The neighbourhood marks a transition between a newly developed apartment district and an intact green forest area in Riga," Gaiss told Dezeen.
"Given its distance from the denser parts of the city, bold and distinctive architecture seemed appropriate here," it added.
The clients asked that House Comet's interior be fully lined in wood. This led Gaiss to construct the home with a frame and panels of glue-laminated timber, which are left exposed and stained white for the walls and ceilings.
Externally, the red-painted timber planks of the lower portion were painted a deep shade of red in reference to the red barns common in Sweden, where the clients ski during winter. This is mirrored in the colour of the fence that wraps the home's garden.
By contrast, the upper section of House Comet's exterior and its roof are clad in white corrugated metal, which, according to Gaiss, was informed by the client's interest in Japanese architecture.
The home's main bedroom and its double-height living, dining and kitchen area sit on either side of a large entrance hall at its centre, which is crossed overhead by a bridge-like landing that connects the first-floor children's bedrooms.
Full-height windows and sliding glass doors open the living area out onto a timber terrace that wraps the home's western end. Smaller terraces sit alongside the entrance hall and main bedroom.
"The entrance hall serves as the central circulation node, connecting all zones of the house, both floors, the front courtyard, and the garden," the studio explained.
"This space opens up the full cross-section of the building, visually and physically linking the children's area on the first floor to the parents' and common area on the ground floor," it added.
Large mansard windows project from House Comet's steeply pitched gable roof, including a small circular window on the first-floor landing that is intended to reference the shape of a comet.
Other homes that have recently used a striking palette of red and white include the extension of a home in Melbourne by Healy Ryan Architects and Gate Lodge in Ireland by A2 Architects.
The photography is by Madara Kupla.
The post Gaiss tops red home in Latvia with corrugated metal roof appeared first on Dezeen.
