Nové Mesto nad Váhom

A house that does not try to stand out: it settles into a garden neighbourhood, keeps the mature trees and returns well water, cleaned, to the ground.

You can come and see it.

141 m², four rooms, class A0.

4 roomsliving room with kitchen2 walk-in wardrobescellarcarport and workshop 50 m²

Nové Mesto nad Váhom · built 2020–2021

From 425 000 €

Angled concrete wall of an earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom rises from a sloped, planted garden at dusk.

Nothing to leak.

Walls and roof are cast as one watertight piece. The concrete itself is the waterproofing, so there is no membrane that ages, tears and one day has to be dug out.

No roof covering to replace.

Grass and low shrubs grow on the roof. There is no covering that would need replacing every few decades, and the rain stays on the plot.

Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, grass roof with concrete overhang above terrace and sunken garden.

Detail of an earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom: grasses on the roof edge above two dark windows in a rust-toned wood-textured wall.

141 m² + shelter and workshop 50 m²
A0
€33 / month
2020–2021

Energy €33 a month for 141 m².

Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, terrace beneath grassy roof edge, wood-clad corner and glazed doors.

Its own well and a reed-bed treatment.

The house needs neither mains water nor a sewer, so a plot without connections will do.

Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, glazed front, grassy roof merging into sloping lawn and trees. — Glazed front

Winter sun into the living room.

The main windows face south. The concrete overhang above them shades them in summer and lets the low winter sun deep into the house.

Earth cover
The house is covered by a layer of soil that insulates it, damps temperature swings and protects the shell from sun and frost.
Green roof
The roof surface is alive. It holds back rainwater, cools itself by evaporation and gives the plot back the area the house took.
Waterproof concrete
The concrete is the waterproofing. There is no separate membrane to age, crack and call for an excavation years later.
South glazing
The main windows face south. In winter the sun reaches deep into the house, in summer the overhang stops it.

Neighbours see grass.

Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, low sun on the glazed front, grass growing over the concrete roof edge.

Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, grass-covered roof over a shaded terrace, low concrete wall by the lawn.

Bare concrete corner of an earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, roof edge planted with grasses, camera and light fixed below the overhang.

From around the plot you see only the green roof and the slope. The mature trees were left standing.

Set into the existing terrain
The shape of the house follows the shape of the plot, not the other way round.
Invisible from public space
From the road you see the terrain, not the house.
Own well
The house has its own source of drinking water, independent of the municipal mains.
Reed bed treatment
Wastewater is treated in a reed bed on the plot, with no connection to the sewer.

No roof coveringThere is no covering here that has to be replaced every two or three decades.
Monolithic shellThe walls and the roof are cast as one continuous piece. There is no joint in the shell for water to pass through.
Store roomA cool, stable room for food and water, with no need for refrigeration.

Earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, sloped concrete wall meets a glazed facade, roof edge planted with grasses. — From the lawn

Wood-panelled corner of an earth-sheltered house in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, camera under the concrete roof overhang, window with plants.

A gentle slope is enough.

The house stands on a gently sloping plot in an allotment-garden area, with a view and privacy. The authorities look favourably on a house that blends in with its surroundings.