House Oskar

Set in the village of Kamenná Lhota in the South Bohemian highlands, on a plot of land that once belonged to the neighbouring Baroque castle, House Oskar sits in a landscape that is never loud: gentle hills, ponds, scattered villages, an hour southeast of Prague, twenty minutes from Tábor, and five minutes from the village pond. The remains of an old Baroque barn and a stone wall enclose a garden of ancient trees, a biotope swimming pool, a yoga platform, an orchard, and quiet panoramic views into the surrounding countryside.

Designed by Prague architect Jan Žaloudek for himself, his partner, his family, and many friends, House Oskar draws on the elongated gabled typology of rural Bohemian structures while introducing a sacred concept of space: the nearby castle never had a chapel, so a different kind of sacred room was created here, a tall vaulted interior that gathers light and organises daily life. An apse opens off the kitchen, a rose window in the gable lets sunlight stream into the house, and floor-to-ceiling folding shutters with ornamental cutouts paint changing patterns of daylight across the interior. Works of art curated jointly by Žaloudek and his partner, gallery owner Jolanta Trojak, are placed throughout, present but not on display, with heating supplied by a heat pump from an on-site water source and an on-site wastewater treatment plant.