A New Prefab House Modeled After Old Latvian Homes

In the region of Pavilosta from Latvia light grey is the dominant color, with lots of houses featuring this nuance on their exterior and with the Baltic Sea and the sky having similar tones when it’s cloudy outside. This lovely house contributes to this dominant aesthetic. It’s been built here in 2019 by studio Open AD and it takes the place of an old structure which was in too bad shape to be salvaged. However, its style is what inspired the design of this new home.

This wooden patio and pergola connect the L-shaped floor plan and create a link between the house and the garden

The Siberian larch wood cladding develops a light gray patina over time to match the sky

The house was built off-site and is a prefab home. This minimized the impact it has on the site and reduced the construction time significantly. For the exterior cladding the architects used Siberian larch wood which gains a nice gray patina over time. They also used wood shingles for the roof and went with a traditional design that has small windows on the front facade to maintain privacy from the street.

Inside, the social areas are connected into an open space with the kitchen placed against the back wall

The wooden deck transitions into a stone pathway which marks the edge of the garden

In contrast with the front section, the West-facing side of the house is quite open. It has large and tall windows and skylights which bring lots of light into the living area and the kitchen. There’s also a transitional indoor-outdoor area marked by a pergola and deck extension. This patio serves as a bridge between the house and the garden which has been preserved along with all the greenery and the apple orchard trees.