House of mister R. | Za Bor Architects

«House of mister R.» is a clear manifestation of the ‘aesthetic of chaos’, which Arseniy Borisenko and Peter Zaytsev are so fond of discussing with colleagues and journalists. But ‘chaos’ has a limited presence here.

House of mister R., image courtesy za bor architects

House of mister R., image courtesy za bor architects

«The accidental rearrangement and (self) organization of form» (as the architects say about their method) turns out to be the result of an extremely rational design process. For all the apparent accidence of its form, the house’s layout and functional structure are soundly put together. And a similar quality is to be found in the building itself, which not only makes a good fit with the lie of the land, but also plays a part in shaping that landscape. The house resembles the remains of an armored spaceship.

The work was hampered by a small plot and a large number of old trees that had to be maintained. In the village houses are fairly close, so the entrance facade has virtually no windows – the main rooms are facing the interior of the site where the two wings of the building form a cozy courtyard.

House of mister R., image courtesy za bor architects

House of mister R., image courtesy za bor architects

The premises are located along the southern facade for maximum direct sunlight. Above a double height living room there´s a roof garden. In this garden there is an exit connecting to the corridor on the second floor (bedrooms).

House of mister R., image courtesy za bor architects

Below, on the first floor, we can find the public areas (living room, dining room, ancillary buildings), and on the second floor there are master’s and children’s bedrooms, and an office.

Skylights on the roof bring natural daylight to the interiors.

House of mister R. - Ground floor plan, drawing courtesy za bor architects

House of mister R. - 1st floor plan, drawing courtesy za bor architects

+ Project credits / data

Project: House of mister R. – residential house in Moscow, Russia
Completion: 2009 year built
Floor area: 560 sq m
Accessible roof area: 50 sq m
Site area: 1800 sq m
Building area: 270 sq m
Architects and Engineering: za bor architects – Arseniy Borisenko and Peter Zaytev
Structure material: concrete and steel
Photographs: Peter Zaytsev + Zinur Razutdinov

+ All images, drawings and description courtesy za bor architects