She and her family built "Bouda", an eco-lodge made of local materials. "We went back to ancient building principles," says Katherine Mastroianni
On your website you state that you want to create a community of people that, among other things, supports Czech producers and the tradition of the countryside. It's a nice idea, but isn't it too expensive?
To make it a bit simpler, I'll point out right at the beginning that I focus mainly on rural areas and small towns, where input costs tend to be much lower. As far as the bigger cities are concerned, that's where I most often consult with people on apartments, helping them to improve the layout and furnish the interior, but property prices here are really very high. People who are interested in healthy living tend to leave the big cities. They want a home where they can feel connected to the countryside.
When it comes to finances, I like to share my own experiences because what I write about on the blog is also actively lived. My husband and I haven't taken out any mortgage or loan yet, but we already have a beautiful piece of land, a tiny-house, we're planting a garden and creating a house project. So no, you don't need a pile of money and you can enjoy your land wonderfully from the start, live on it almost immediately and not feel the financial pressure.
How did you choose the land? Did price play a major role or did you have other priorities?
The price of the land did not play a major role, but it was one of our input parameters. The important thing is to be conceptual from the first moment. He knew exactly what he wanted and what he didn't want and paid enough attention to the land search. He didn't rush, he didn't let pressure get to him and he had everything well thought out. In the Czech Republic it is still possible to find a really great plot of land at a very low price. Each of them has some handicap that reduces its market price more or less. The joke is that such a "flaw" may not bother you personally, or on the contrary you see potential in it. The most common disadvantages are the location of the land in a small village or in a secluded area, a more difficult access road, land on a slope, northern orientation, etc.
In order to enjoy our land immediately, we first built a Shed on it - a house of approximately 20 square meters made of high quality natural materials. The shed perfectly meets our current needs and allows us to spend summers and weekends on the property throughout the year. We built the shed together with our children in one summer holiday and building it has been the best family holiday yet for us. It's important to say that in order to enjoy building like this, you have to plan it very well in advance and have a detailed project.
At this stage we have an orchard of fruit trees and a wild hedge of edible shrubs planted on our property, we are about to build flower beds, a fire pit and a seating area, and we will be submitting the house project to the building authority next year.
As for the Shed, how did you come up with the idea? And do you actively offer this option to clients, is it a normal part of the consultation?
The building of the Shed naturally followed our travels by motorhome, where one needs very few things to live. When you wake up in the morning and go out, you are immediately connected to the surrounding landscape. The shed has the essence of a motorhome, only it's roughly twice as big. Today, the most beautiful landscape that we want to be most connected to is our land. My beloved book Saturnin' was a big inspiration. I've always wanted a "Dr. Vlach cabin." A place where you can find refuge when the big water comes and the power goes out completely, or a place where you can survive completely without technology.
The cabin is available to any client who feels like it could be their way too. Every Shed is an original, because no two plots or people are the same. It is around the Shed that I am trying to create a "community" where not only information about building can be shared, but perhaps even surplus building materials. Shed is not only a customized project, but it is also a shopping list, coordination of supplies, supervision. In short, a complete guide and support for those who want to build their house completely or partially on their own and leave their mark on it.
Your site has a slightly "mystical" effect on me. It talks about the architecture of life, about connecting to the land and the surroundings... It seems to me that you are first and foremost aiming at the client's interior. How does the meeting with the "architect of life" actually take place?
A client once told me that the first meeting with me is that I ask very uncomfortable questions. And just as you say, getting to know the client's inner self is my primary task. Because your home must first and foremost reflect your personality, your goals and dreams. But it's not about mysticism, it's more about empathy, I would say. Many architects expect their clients to have a clear brief right from the start, but that's basically impossible. And it is also the reason why many times the collaboration between architects and investors ends in a dispute. A specific and precise brief needs to be created together with the investor by asking questions, explaining the different contexts and analysing their specific situation.
Collaborating with an architect to create a home can sometimes end in divorce, as the partners find that they have completely different ideas about their home (and life). It's not talked about much, but creating a real home can be quite challenging. When I say home, I mean a place where you recharge your batteries every day and from which you don't need to "run away on holiday". It's not just about a beautiful building and a nice interior, of course. You need to get to the heart of who you are and then balance the needs of those who share your home with you. The architect should try to make sure that the partners enjoy creating the home as a "shared personal development" and that everyone feels that their needs have been heard and respected.
The home is a very sensitive subject, and to be specific, in terms of interior design I can change the layout and position of furniture so that people are happier, start to communicate more, stop getting in each other's way and have much less cause for argument. But I'm simplifying a lot right now.
So you also use, for example, the teachings of feng shui?
Only partly, I'm much more interested in our own traditions. You know, I think that as a nation we need to find our roots and our identity again. Yet all the important answers about the proportions of a house, the harmonious layout, the combination of building materials and their protection, construction details, etc. can be found in our vernacular buildings. This is basically my source of information about the interplay between space and people. When I don't know, I turn there. I think that in the period before the First Republic, we were a proud people who could draw on the wisdom of the surrounding nature.
There is a common sense logic at work in the interior, whatever type it is, that is connected to a sense of space. We can call it intuition, for example. It is important to always connect and respect both of these aspects. To be able to describe how I will feel in the designed space and to be able to explain why such a space works logically in terms of closer and wider connections. Then your feedback loop works and the space is designed correctly.
I'm very much an analytical type, so in addition to these two inseparable parts, I added a third validation technique - dowsing. In practice, this looks like, for example, first, I place the house correctly on the lot. So that I can fit the parking space, the well, the patio, the sewage treatment plant, the big trees, so that the views and the whole concept work... In short, I do a rational analysis of the land based on the client's wishes. At the same time, when I see everything drawn on paper and imagine myself moving on the land, it must also have a harmonious effect on me. Then I go to the property, take a wand and find a suitable location for the well. Using the virgula, I find the exact spot where the house should stand and verify that its position corresponds to the original drawing. I locate any geopathic zones and verify that they extend outside the area of the planned house. I do the same for the interior.
As an architect, I am simply there to make sure that everything is in harmony. Design logic, intuition, aesthetics, but also the financial side.
Is there a trend that is currently prevalent among people looking for a home? Did anything surprise you?
I'm not sure I know what people generally demand, because my clients are probably a bit specific. The purpose of my work is mainly to bring the idea of healthy living and modern natural materials to the everyday so-called middle class people. I thought it would take a lot of explaining and a lot of education, but it turns out that interest in healthier building is naturally growing. I am very happy that most of my clients take building with natural materials for granted.
The world is evolving and people are gradually realising that everything artificial has its limits. Today there are common natural-based building materials that combine the traditional and functional with modern technology. For example, linen heat mats contain over 90% purely natural ingredients. We are gradually rediscovering that natural materials create a healthier environment and are both degradable and durable. They often have better and more complex properties and can work well together and help each other in construction, such as flax and wood or straw and clay. So once again we return to the principles of building that commonly worked 200 years ago and more, and discover how they are still relevant today. However, today we can add technologies that increase comfort and practicality.
So I like the trend where tradition and modernity are coming together. A beautiful example of this is straw panels, which are made in a factory exactly to suit your family home, and from which you assemble a rough structure very quickly and precisely. In contrast, more alternative natural materials, such as straw bales, can make construction longer and more expensive due to an unprofessional approach. That is why I focus on achievable solutions that are environmentally friendly, healthy and accessible to ordinary people.
