Every second city dweller dreams of escaping from their concrete jungle into nature. Escape to nature for a day, two, on vacation, for the summer. Many people would like to buy or build their own house in the forest and live there both in winter and summer. And who doesn't dream of meeting New Year in the forest in winter in a cozy house, in the middle of this white winter fairy tale?
Fairytale house in the forest in winter in the village
But not many would agree to exchange city comfort and convenience for simple village life. We are already accustomed to the fact that the house is always warm. It doesn't need to be heated. Others are doing this. There is always a cold and hot water. And you don’t have to go far when you need it. The potty, that is, the toilet - here it is, next to it.
It's a different matter in the village. To make the house warm you need to try. How much work it costs to chop several woodpiles of wood to light the stove. And to get water you need to go with buckets and a rocker on your shoulders to the nearest well. Well, with empty ones there’s no way to go for a walk. But not many of today’s townspeople will be able to return with full ones, and not spill half of them while going back.
If you need hot water, you must first heat it on the stove. And for this you need to light the stove. And to light the stove, you need to bring firewood. And in order to have something to bring, you need to prepare them first. This is how the thermal chain and water cycle emerge in rural nature.
Separately, it is necessary to say about a small house on the outskirts of a village estate. There is such a special house in every estate. After all, there is no central sewerage system in most villages. So imagine the situation. It's winter, the frost is forty degrees Celsius. And the resident of the fairy-tale house in the forest had an urge to... Something to freeze in the backyard!
Cozy dream house in a winter forest in the city
Fortunately, times are changing. And many villagers are already installing water heaters in their houses. Some villages are supplied with gas and there is no longer a need to prepare such quantities of firewood for the winter. Water supply or individual wells appear and water wells remain only in artists’ paintings and in people’s memories.
Any resident of a forest village with hands can arrange a life and comfort for themselves at the level of urban housing. And there’s nothing to say about a city dweller who dreams of a house in the forest on the edge of the village. And there are more opportunities than a villager.
Go to any hardware store. How many materials and devices have appeared on sale! There are long-burning stoves using wood, coal and other solid fuels. Gas stoves, diesel stoves, electric stoves and whatnot. Pumps, pipes, water heaters - whatever your heart desires.
If you can’t build and erect all this yourself, then there are companies that will build a house with all the amenities on a turnkey basis. Come and live! This is where what comes to the fore is not the comfort and convenience of a village house, but its surroundings, its aura, so to speak.
What advantages will a city dweller have who decides to exchange comfort for exorbitant rural labor? Almost like Vysotsky’s song about climbers (it’s about comfort and exorbitant work). What about the benefits? So here they are:
- Close to nature
- Fresh air
- Silence and leisurely flow of life
- Bathhouse!
Villages were almost always founded near a river or lake. And most of Russia is forest, coniferous or deciduous, or generally virgin or, as they say, black taiga. Therefore, in almost every village there is a forest and a river or stream or lake. As a last resort - a pond with crucian carp. Here the morning fog by the river is like milk. And the murmur of a stream or the rustling of the waves of a river or lake.
And the sound of fluttering leaves under the pressure of a mischievous breeze is not forgotten even after twenty years of living in the city. The one who was awakened at dawn by the tap of a branch on the window will forever remain a soul in the village. Winter sledding downhill, skiing in the snowy forest. How can this be exchanged for a birdhouse in the city?
The air that a person breathes is transparent. Maybe that's why we don't notice it. When it becomes impossible to breathe in the city, when there is smog and stench, then we remember the clean country air. And the air in the countryside, far from the city, is clean and transparent both in winter and summer.
In a house in the forest, especially in winter, or on the outskirts of the forest, time stops. It seems to flow more slowly. There is no rush, there is no trace of the city bustle. Measured, calm, unhurried village life in the silence of the forest. Even the wind in the forest is less noisy and mischievous.
And of course, one of the main advantages of village life is the bathhouse. The bathhouse in the city is not the same! No city bathhouse can compare with a bathhouse in the countryside. Especially if she is on the shore of a pond. Your own bathhouse is a source of pleasure. Enjoying the smell of wood in hot bath, warmth that warms the body and a broom, birch or any other. The bathhouse is generally a separate world of pleasure.
Ecuadorian small house in the forest with a moss roof
This little house in the forest was built like 100 years ago. One of the problems with Art Nouveau architecture is that in some countries it has replaced traditional building practices that were adapted to local climates and materials. Most of the individual styles of modern architecture depend on industrial materials that have nothing in common with the natural ones that have been used for centuries in a particular region.
And although work on adapting industrial materials to climate conditions in different countries is being carried out gradually; not all materials are suitable for global construction. Therefore, Ecuadorian architects Luis Velasco Roldan and Ángel Hevia Antuña built a small house in the forest according to old traditions and construction techniques from natural materials. Solar heat is used to heat the room.
Spacious entrance to a forest house
The main goal of the project is research. The architects wanted to find out the energy efficiency of such a building in the local sunny climate.
Bright zoning of the room
Luis and Ángel worry that in recent decades the knowledge accumulated by their ancestors has been lost and technology has been forgotten. This situation is dangerous due to the replacement of climate-adapted residential structures with houses made of concrete, steel sheets or fiber cement. These modern housing models are not only filling new urban areas, but also displacing long-established buildings.
The situation is also complicated by the dependence on supplies of materials from remote industrial areas and high energy consumption to maintain the microclimate inside. Many buildings in Latin America are located in a temperate climate and at times it becomes cool in them due to uncalculated design decisions.
This state of affairs can be corrected by returning to the roots and using energy-efficient technologies.
Forest house project plan
The architects' project is a contrast to new trends. Only local materials were used for the house in the forest natural materials. The building is quite small, only 48.7 m2; there is a tree growing right in the center of the room, which the owners did not cut down.
Sliding glass doors can be closed or fully opened and feel like you are in a spacious gazebo.
There are many windows everywhere, they all open
The house consists of a living room, bedroom, kitchen, dining room and office. It is very bright here, natural materials are used in the interior, creating a feeling of comfort and warmth. The front trim is made of Ecuadorian laurel, the finishing frame is made of eucalyptus wood. The air saturated with the eucalyptus scent is pleasant and healthy.
The tree in the dining room and the room itself
The bedroom is designed in two tiers; during the day you can read and sunbathe on the second level. All windows can be opened if desired.
Relaxation on two levels
One of the most interesting construction techniques is now out of sight. Pumice was chosen for insulation. Air pockets filled with this material smoothly level out temperature changes and climate inside the house from 20 to 21°C, all year round, even if it is only 12°C outside. In addition, as in wall panels, pumice was used over the drainage layer on the roof.
Admiring the view from the window in any weather was his main desire, and the designers met him halfway: one of the walls of the house, facing the lake, was made completely glass. This wall-window makes it possible to observe the lake all year round, regardless of the vagaries of the weather.
There should be no buildings in the forest that stand out too much from the environment- that’s what the owner decided. Therefore, the design of a small private house was decided in an ecological key: wood was used in the construction, and where else, if not in the forest, to build wooden houses!
The facade of the house is covered with slats - they perfectly “dissolve” in the forest, merging with the background. But you won’t be able to lose sight: the strict rhythm of the alternation of slats stands out from the random alternation of trunks in the forest, indicating the place of residence of a person.
The small modern house seems to be permeated with air and light; the slats protruding above the roof create a pattern reminiscent of the outline of a forest on a hill. The shadow from the slats in the interior creates the effect of being in a thicket.
The glass wall slides apart - this is the entrance to the house. During the absence of the owners, the glass is covered with wooden shutters; they are foldable and can be easily removed when not needed.
The project used unique larch wood - this wood practically does not rot, a house made from it can stand for centuries.
All wooden parts for a small house in the forest were made using modern technologies- they were cut out with a laser beam. Then some of the structures were assembled in workshops, and some were delivered directly to the construction site, where this unusual house was erected within a week.
To avoid dampness, the house is raised above the ground using bolts.
The design of a small private house is simple, and a bit reminiscent of a “yacht”, this is a tribute to the owner’s passion. Inside, everything is modest and austere: a sofa and fireplace in the living room, a bed in the “cabin” - only, unlike a yacht, not below, below the deck, but above, under the roof itself.
You can climb to the “bedroom” via a metal ladder.
In a small modern house there is nothing superfluous, and the entire decor comes down to decorative pillows with “sea” stripes - the combination of blue and white brings a refreshing touch to the ascetic interior.
The wooden walls are illuminated by a variety of lamps, the light of which can be directed in any direction of your choice.
At first glance, it seems that the small house in the forest doesn’t even have a kitchen. But this impression is wrong; she is hiding in a wooden cube that occupies part of the living room.
On top of this cube there is a bedroom cabin, and in it itself there is a kitchen, or a naval galley. Its decoration is also minimalist: the walls are covered with cement, the furniture is gray, matching it. The steel shine of the facades prevents this brutal interior from looking gloomy and dull.
The design of a small private house did not include any frills, so there is no bathtub, instead there is a shower, the bathroom is small in size and fits perfectly in the same “cube” with the kitchen.
Due to this, with a small total area There is enough space left for a spacious living room. All the things the owner needs are hidden in a large storage system that occupies almost an entire wall.
Next to the fireplace there is a large niche in which it is convenient to store firewood. A fireplace in this small modern house is not a luxury, but a necessity; it is what heats the entire room. With a small area and well-thought-out design, such a heat source is enough to heat 43 square meters.
A small house has a lot of advantages: it is warm in winter and cool in summer, sitting on the sofa you can admire the entire surface of the lake, and in order to relax or receive guests, it has everything you need.
To all the advantages, it is worth adding the environmentally friendly finishing: the wood on the walls is covered with oil, the floor is cement the color of the lake shore, and all this looks stylish and very appropriate in a house near the water.
