Home on a Circle

We first met when they were designing the garden for our house. A pleasant, distinguished couple who immediately convinced us that the garden and its design are just as important as the architectural design of the house. We gradually became friends and, to this day, we continue to inspire one another.

After fourteen years, our wonderful garden has become a living organism in its own right, but now they were building their own home, and it was fascinating to see how an experienced landscape architect acts as both client and creator for himself. With our own small contribution, they are bringing to life the concept of the garden as a family retreat – which is precisely how the Jiránks perceive the fundamental function of the garden at their family home.

The result is pure harmony. “When a house is built and a garden is added to it, only then does a home truly come into being,” says Tomáš thoughtfully, his gaze fixed out towards the garden. He is happy here, as are his family and everyone who visits.

Place

Tucked away at an inconspicuous end of a new neighbourhood, the house is practically invisible from the access road. It is only once you’ve passed through the gate that it gradually comes into view. First, you’ll catch sight of a subtle, single-storey, oval-shaped structure clad in timber and surrounded by delicate planting, dominated by elegant grasses. However, what unfolds before you once you step into the garden will take your breath away – both the true scale of the house, which reveals itself in all its two-storey grandeur, and the unexpected view of the hills and woods opposite, as well as the ravine at their foot. You stand there for a moment, simply taking it all in. You feel at ease here; it’s somehow naturally lovely. At home.

We arrived on a glorious summer’s day, with the sun overhead slowly beginning to reach its midday heat, despite the weather forecast. As soon as we stepped barefoot onto the freshly mown, thick lawn and began our tour of the garden, it was clear that the owners had poured not only all their professional skill and experience into this little patch of land, but above all their heart.

It was their work that led the couple to the plot. They had been commissioned to landscape a neighbouring garden for a client, and the adjoining meadow – originally intended for two building plots – captivated them. They had both had a connection to the town itself, situated in the foothills of the Krkonoše Mountains, since childhood; many of their friends and some of their family live here.

The role of the architect

Tomáš began drawing up the first sketches of the house himself, based on his own landscape design concept. The couple then invited their friend, the architect Marek Lehmann, who has been collaborating with them on numerous projects ever since he was an architecture student. The successful outcome is down to the seamless collaboration between the architect and the landscape architect, which also reflects the philosophy of the firm owned by the house’s owners.

“Good concepts emerge when the client is prepared to commission an architect to design the house. When they also commission a landscape architect, they are ready for a meaningful dialogue,” says Tomáš, speaking from experience; he believes that the ideal situation is when the house and the garden are created in parallel. “The result is organic when the house effectively ‘settles’ into the garden, into its surroundings, and blends in with them. This is how a town or village should function from an urban planning perspective. It is created – or should be created – in a similar way,” he adds. Indeed, he himself has created internal landscapes for a number of towns, designed to bring people together, as places of shared values that connect life with architecture. 

Many of the projects carried out under the New Visit banner have deservedly been honoured with prestigious awards, such as the Central Spa Park in Poděbrady or the rehabilitation project of the Tyrš Gardens beneath the castle in Pardubice, which was marked by many twists and turns and all the more gratifying for it, the rehabilitation project for the Tyršovy sady gardens below the castle in Pardubice. Both are projects close to his heart and, coincidentally, both were created in collaboration with the architect Marek Lehmann.

House

The spatial concept of the house is based on a circle. The centre of this imaginary circle is marked by a stone set into the garden opposite the main terrace. The dominant feature of the building’s interior layout is a grand staircase, which unfolds before you like a magic flying carpet just beyond the main entrance on the upper floor, leading you down into the main living area of the house. Viewed from below, it resembles a concrete sculpture – a work of art on which you can sit comfortably and, as if from a theatre, watch the garden spreading out before it. The staircase runs through the centre of the house and forms its axis, both artistically and functionally. It divides the house into a living area and a private relaxation area.

The materials used in the building’s construction and interiors, combined with the main floor being set into the ground, ensure a pleasant indoor climate in this south-west-facing house, even on the hottest days. Wood, concrete and glass predominate here. The owners are particularly fond of wood, which is to be expected, but they have also come to love concrete, even in their own creative work – after all, concrete is a natural material, as they are keen to emphasise.

Interior

The biggest challenge for the supplier turned out to be the arched window in the living room. “We wanted a clean, unpartitioned arched window. But it wasn’t until the third one that we managed to fit it in. The first one broke, and the second one didn’t fit,” explains Tomáš, adding that the inspiration came from Brno, where he fell in love with arched windows. There’s also space for a fireplace near the window, which will be added in due course.

The living room is designed as one large space, visually divided by furniture into areas ideal for reading, watching television or family lunches. It is the dining table that connects the living room to the kitchen, which is built in beneath the staircase and introduces further striking elements into the interior in the form of black and natural stone. Adjacent to this is a passageway leading to the private area with the master bedroom and the daughters’ room.

A woman’s touch is evident throughout the house, whether in the delicate natural decorations on the table or the striking turquoise curtains. “I thought to myself that it needed a bit of colour. We started looking at greys and beiges, but it was all a bit dull. Then, in what must have been the millionth colour chart, I spotted this one and the decision was made,” says Jitka delightedly, adding with a smile: “The curtains have brought the interior to life, and what’s more, they look good even from the other side of the hill. They’re reflected in the glass, making the house look like a green-blue eye.”

She and her husband took the interior design of the house into their own hands. They knew they didn’t want to live in an ultra-modern interior; rather, they wanted a modern cottage. Some things are still being finished off, but that doesn’t bother anyone in the house. They see it as a living organism, and above all, they’re delighted to have called this their home for the past three years. They moved in at a time when the house was still far from being fully finished, but they were simply looking forward to it and were grateful for every moment they could already spend here.

Wellness

“We couldn’t leave out a relaxation area, if only because we know each other,” says Tomáš with a wink, viewing the concept of wellness in the broadest possible terms. For his family, it also encompasses spaces for getting together, sharing and playing. First and foremost, it’s about connecting with nature, which, in his words, we all need to live, because it helps us to calm down and ‘find our centre’.

After all, we’d already agreed during our very first meeting that the quality of living lies precisely in the connection between the interior and the exterior. We also agreed that wellness isn’t ‘just’ a healthy lifestyle or some kind of facility, but above all care for the soul. For the Jiráneks, this also includes spending time with family and friends. The house should therefore function well as a place of relaxation for them too. It should be a pleasant space for everyone who spends even a brief moment there. And they have certainly succeeded in achieving that.

Swim spa

At the end of the private section of the lower wing, just beyond the parents’ bedroom, there is a relaxation room with a sauna and shower, offering direct access to the terrace with a cooling tub. The design includes a swim spa recessed into the adjoining outdoor terrace. According to the owners, the swim spa is one of the most frequently used parts of the house, enjoyed by swimmers of all ages, not just members of the household.

“I love the difference in how the men and us women enjoy the swim spa… I could spend hours in the bubbles on the steps, just like recently – a record seven hours – a girls’ afternoon with a glass of Prosecco,” says Jitka with a smile, adding: “We’re really enjoying the swim spa. It’s like having our own little home spa. I love those moments when the weather’s nasty, everyone’s holed up indoors, and we’re having a dip. We love swimming in the rain.”

Garden

It is not just the house, but the garden too that is deceptive at first glance. You simply wouldn’t expect that deep ravine behind it, which gradually comes into view as you approach the edge of the plot. Yet it forms the essential backdrop to the garden’s concept. According to Tomáš, this is the concept of the ‘borrowed landscape’. The landscape serves as the background, the deeper plane of the scene.

Landscape architecture is like holistic medicine. The body does not function well if it is not in harmony with the soul. In this case, with the surrounding landscape. Creating the garden was a natural collaboration between the couple. Together, they knew where they wanted to end up.

With its shapes and undulating terrain, the garden mirrors the surrounding landscape, as Tomáš explains: “The horizons on the horizon are echoed in the garden’s contours; it is a landscape drawn inwards.” The choice of plants also reflects the local natural environment. “The backbone of the planting is typical of the Podkrkonoší region; it’s based on rowan, hornbeam, willow and other typical local tree species. Even today, when we go to buy plants for clients, we treat ourselves and buy a plant for ourselves, even though the garden is already full,” adds Jitka.

After just three years, the garden already feels mature, well-established and lived-in. A garden should offer various spots, each with its own sense of privacy and atmosphere – places where one can soak up different moods. In their view, it must cater to one’s needs, even if one simply wants to read and get away from it all; that, too, is the role of a garden. This is, in fact, the principle they followed in their own garden as well. All the rooms in the house have windows facing the garden. There is even direct access to it from the bedroom. Conversely, the garden comprises countless spots to pause in, nooks offering their own activities, from which, in turn, one can look back at the house.

“This is where people often go wrong. They often have a beautiful house, but they don’t have a spot from which they can really appreciate it. You have to find such a spot in the garden. A connection is formed; a home is created. The house is the place people return to from the garden – from the fields, the orchard, the garden. This pattern has held true since time immemorial,” says Tomáš. The Jiránks love everything about their new home, starting with his design: “We realised that working for clients is a joy, but we hadn’t realised that working for ourselves is a joy too.”

A family business

I couldn’t help but ask. My husband and I are often asked how we manage to work together in the same office every day, and I simply had to pass the question on, as it was so obvious in this case. Clearly, they hadn’t even considered the idea that it might be an extra burden: “It’s great to enjoy something together, and because we work together, we can share it to the full. Actually, we can’t really think of any reasons why it should be a complication,” they both say with a thoughtful smile.

“We collaborate on a large scale – those big parks and public spaces – but recently we’ve also moved more into the scale of family gardens, where there’s a direct relationship with the client. Professionally, we’re on the same wavelength; our views align, and we know how to complement or stand in for one another,” explains Tomáš, adding that it is precisely these family gardens that bring them a new sense of fulfilment.

Whilst the path to the goal is a long one with public projects, different values apply with private clients: “A private client doesn’t think in terms of electoral terms, but creates a garden to last a lifetime. Alongside price, they also prioritise quality, which is why our work is often closer to design than to architecture.”

Life

The garden served as an irreplaceable refuge for them, even during the difficult period of this year’s state of emergency. Fortunately, they did not have to endure being forced to stay at home; nevertheless, home provided them with a greater sense of security than usual, and thanks to its design, they did not feel confined – moreover, the family gathered there. “We were working flat out the whole time – although the office was largely operating on a work-from-home basis, we were still carrying out projects and looking after our clients’ gardens. They were grateful for our services, though some clients’ neighbours did occasionally call the police on us,” recalls Jitka of that challenging time. Nevertheless, they too used this period to improve their home. Carpenters were busy at their place, and they managed to complete the wooden cladding on the façade, a sauna and some built-in wardrobes.

Home

For the Jiráneks, home is all about relationships. It’s the people who share a home, who come together in that space. The couple’s favourite spot – and the place where they’ve worked together to create their own home – is the seating area in the garden, which was originally intended to be a garden arbour. In the end, it is the canopy of bushes above the ‘café under the maple’ that serves as the gazebo. That’s what Jitka and Tom call it. It offers a beautiful view of the whole house.

Jitka, beaming with genuine happiness, sitting beneath her beloved ‘pyjama maple’ – a tree she knows exactly when and where she discovered for their new home – brings our conversation today to a close in the light of the setting sun: “I feel small here, embraced by nature. I used to wonder whether we really needed such a big house, but I’m glad we have it; I feel a sense of humility and joy that we haven’t forced our way into this place and have managed to integrate it fully with the landscape…”