02/ Borcec, Radman Vrbanek © MMII

Borcec Family House, Zagreb

A family house for two ‘with no friends’ (I am quoting the client here). A swimming pool was required not for pleasure but for rehabilitation. The third requirement was to avoid barriers. Much to our delight, it meant that we were obliged to stay at a single level, as opposed to the usual requests of clients who mistake quantity for quality. What they were after was an ultimate refuge, and it called for extreme introversion.
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The house is on high ground overlooking the city below. Unfortunately, the desired condition of seeing without being seen is impaired by the exposure to the access road. The solution offered itself in the Panopticon principle (theorised originally by 18th ct. philosopher Bentham and subsequently by Robin Evans and Michel Foucault). Not only did the eccentric atrium reaching for the façade introduce a gradient in the transition from the interior to the exterior, it also allowed for this asymmetrical relationship to be fulfilled.
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The pivotal point between the ‘interior proper’ and the ‘outdoor living room’ is a detached back-to-back hearth with a fireplace on one side and a barbecue on the other.