This house had one clear limitation - it had to stay low. But the owners still wanted sea views from every space.
Red Soil House, by Konzola Arhitektura, turns that restriction into the main design idea.
Instead of creating a flat single-level house, the project uses subtle internal level changes to bring depth, hierarchy, and better views.
The red color comes from the soil of Istria, the pool reflects the surrounding vegetation and the house uses color, water, light, and section to transform a simple one-story rule into something much more spatial.
A low house that is not flat. A red house shaped by land, limits, and the distant sea.
Firm: Konzola Arhitektura Location: Stancijeta, Novigrad, Istra Year: 2021-2023 Site area: 878 sqm House area: 171 sqm Photos: Koridor 27
This house needed to stay low, but the residents wanted to see the sea from every space,
and that is where its design becomes interesting.
This is the Red Soil House, designed by Consola Architectura in Stancieta,
a residential area of Novigrad in Istria, Croatia.
The site has 878 square meters, the house has 171 square meters, and the lot was not simple.
It had an irregular shape, with a trapezoidal buildable area and corners defined by the urban
plan. The house was not born from total freedom, it was born from limits.
The urban regulation allowed only single-story houses in that area.
This could have led to a common plan, all on the same level,
but the residents wanted a distant view of the sea from every space in the house.
The solution was to use a round-plan logic. The house remains single-story, but inside,
the spaces are not all at the same height. The bedrooms and service areas sit lower,
the main living area sits higher. These level changes, around 1.5 meters and 1.3 meters,
seem small, but they change the experience. The house gains depth, gains hierarchy,
and creates better conditions for the view without needing to become a two-story house.
The social area brings together living, kitchen, dining, and terrace in a more open sequence.
It is the highest point and the most connected to the exterior. From there,
the view stretches toward the sea. The openings were carefully positioned. They frame the view,
let the sun enter at different moments of the day, and create marks of light and shadow inside.
The pool appears as a water mirror beside the outdoor area. Its color was designed to reflect
the surrounding vegetation. It creates a visual pause and contrasts with the red
earth volume of the house. This color is one of the most striking decisions in the project.
It comes from the red soil of Istria. Instead of using a white or neutral facade, the house takes
on the color of the place itself. Red soil, red volume, water reflecting the green.
The materiality feels more restrained. The red earth finish defines the external presence.
Glass appears at the points of opening and view, and the interiors keep a cleaner language,
so they don't compete with the strength of the volume.
The bedrooms are more protected, lower, more withdrawn. The level difference helps define
uses without relying only on walls. The section itself organizes the house.
The strength of red soil house is in its strategy. It turns a rule into design. It
needed to be single story, so it uses internal level changes to create depth,
view, and organization. The more discrete point is that this solution doesn't appear immediately
when looking only at the facade. Without understanding the level changes and the
requirement for sea views, it can seem just like a terracotta house with a pool.
In the end, red soil house shows that a single-story house doesn't need to be flat. It
can have layers, it can have depth, and it can transform an urban limitation into a spatial
experience.
