House extension

This project extends a historical brickyard complex by transforming a traditional "gánok" house typology into a contemporary weekend living space. By merging the ground floor with a heavy, unceilinged brick roof truss, the design creates a voluminous interior that honors the site’s industrial heritage through the use of reclaimed, handmade bricks. The result is a tactile, "woven" architectural finish that balances thermal efficiency with a deep respect for local craftsmanship and the theories of Gottfried Semper.

Pavol Paňák is one of the most significant representatives of contemporary Slovak architecture. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture of the Slovak University of Technology (today's STU). He forms an important authorial duo with M. Kusý.

Fotos by Tomáš Manina and Pavol Paňák

The extension is part of a complex of buildings located on the grounds of a former village brickyard. Set within a sprawling garden, the ensemble consists of a replica of a former brickmaker’s dwelling (built in 1995), a converted vaulted brick kiln now serving as a studio (2010), and a shed (2016). The extension responds to an increased need for living space, primarily for family weekend stays—functioning as a new living room connected to the existing layout. In both its floor plan and sectional silhouette, it acts as a longitudinal extension of the existing house. Both structures—the kiln/studio and the extension—were characterized by a certain inherent predestination. While the theme of the ruinous kiln was the idea of a new shell protecting the existing vault and its space, the theme of the extension was the character of the internal space within the continuing outline of the existing house.

The starting point was the omission of the conventional ceiling between the living space and the roof truss, typical of the sectional figure of a "gánok" (traditional pillared porch) house. In terms of the floor plan, it involves composing a transverse axis against the dual longitudinal axes of the roof truss and the room itself. It is, in fact, a single large room with an inserted gallery (emporia) that connects to the attic of the existing house via a staircase. The fireplace and library are flush with the interior, while their volumes are expressed on the exterior perimeter walls. The merging of the ground floor and attic spaces is not a groundbreaking gesture—the uniqueness of this relationship here stems precisely from the mutual displacement of the two aforementioned longitudinal axes.

For many decades, bricks were fired on this site. The roof truss itself is, in a way, a tribute to the brick and the culture of its ancient craft. More than two-thirds of all the reclaimed bricks used come from this very site, with the rest sourced from the immediate surroundings. Unlike today's machine production, these were handmade; once fired, they were varied in precision and shade. This inherent variety renders such a simple surface decorative. It serves as a reminder of Semper’s theory regarding the textile-woven origin of wall constructions and surfaces.

All surfaces—brick, metal, lime plaster, concrete products, and plywood—are left without further finishing. The "gánok" along the room is glazed and can be closed, functioning as a climatic buffer zone for most of the year. From a building physics perspective, such a heavy roof truss (or two inclined ceiling slabs leaning against each other) possesses excellent thermal accumulation properties, ensuring a stable indoor climate. A metal sculpture by Peter Roller is positioned in the forecourt of the extension.