Banánka House | © Matej Hakár Tucked at the forested edge of the village of Banka, Slovakia, the Banánka House by Paulíny Hovorka Architects presents a compelling case for contemporary domestic architecture that merges tectonic clarity with landscape immersion. Conceived as a tranquil family retreat, the project engages with its natural surroundings through mimicry, strategic alignment, material honesty, and spatial humility. The house, completed in 2024, demonstrates how architectural restraint can produce profound spatial richness rooted in its immediate context. Banánka House Technical Information Architects1-14: Paulíny Hovorka Architects Location: Banka, Slovakia Area: 416 m2 | 4,477 Sq. Ft. Project Year: 2020 – 2024 Photographs: © Matej Hakár Our goal was to create a home that dissolves into the landscape; not through mimicry, but through spatial clarity, material honesty, and a deep respect for the existing garden and forest context. – Braňo Hovorka & Martin Paulíny, Paulíny Hovorka Architects Banánka House Photographs Aerial View | © Matej Hakár Aerial View | © Matej Hakár Aerial View | © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár © Matej Hakár Context and Site Integration The siting of the Banánka House is informed by the quiet drama of the landscape: a narrow, tree-lined valley bordered by a stream and punctuated with mature vegetation. The location, formerly a private garden plot, offers deep privacy and a rare ecological density. Rather than flattening the site’s particularities, the design responds through subtraction and negotiation, shaping space around every tree and allowing the topography and the existing vegetation to dictate the orientation and form. The Y-shaped plan emerges as a calibrated response to solar orientation and visual permeability. Each wing subtly avoids the existing trees while dividing the expansive 2,338 m² plot into smaller, intimate gardens. These outdoor “rooms” are not ornamental but spatial continuations of the interior, forming a sequence of landscape moments that support the house’s contemplative intent. The architectural narrative here is one of measured insertion, of making space without domination. Architectural Strategy and Spatial Configuration At the heart of the house lies a central living hall, a capacious yet grounded volume that anchors the three divergent wings. The organization radiates from this communal core. One wing houses the children’s and guest rooms, another the master suite and wellness area, and the third accommodates the entry, storage, and technical spaces. The cruciform-like geometry ensures that each functional zone is autonomous and connected, enabling a coherent domestic flow while maintaining privacy. Circulation is direct and legible, eschewing unnecessary corridors in favor of open transitions that extend outward toward the landscape. Programmatic zoning further reinforces the spatial hierarchy. Noisy and social functions are clustered in the center, while private and meditative spaces taper off into the periphery. The result is an architecture of quiet adjacency, where the interior is continuously in dialogue with the exterior yet never competes with it. Banánka House Materiality and Construction Materially, Banánka asserts itself with raw precision. Board-formed concrete ceilings and walls form the structural and atmospheric backbone of the house. The texture, an imprint of timber shuttering, evokes both permanence and memory, grounding the building in its material origins. This monolithic palette is punctuated by galvanized steel gabion walls filled with crushed stone, further blurring the threshold between architecture and terrain. Timber elements, in thermally modified pine and engineered oak, lend a tactile warmth to the composition, mediating the concrete’s brute strength. The project’s fenestration, ultra-slim framed glazing by KOYA and Otiima, avoids ornament in favor of maximum openness. These sliding elements disappear into wall pockets, dissolving boundaries and allowing for uninterrupted environmental continuity. Even thermal strategies are seamlessly integrated. Kooltherm and PIR insulation boards are concealed behind clean detailing, while Schöck’s Isokorb breaks address structural thermal bridging without visual compromise. The interior, devoid of superfluous décor, is defined by custom-built furniture and integrated storage solutions. The architectural language avoids distraction. Hidden doors, continuous surfaces, and a cohesive palette reinforce an atmosphere of visual calm. Lighting by Eden Design and Vibia and a restrained selection of fixtures by Ceadesign and Agape extend the project’s minimal ethos down to the finest details. Atmosphere, Experience, and Meaning Banánka is not a house that demands attention but rewards observation. It is a house built not for display but for living, emphasizing temporal rhythms and sensory engagement. The melancholic quality of the site, its muted light, rustling leaves, and distant water, finds a counterpoint in the solidity of the architecture. This structure does not compete with its surroundings but holds space for them. Its spatial generosity is not measured in size but in porosity. Each room has a view, a threshold, and a moment of connection. The terrace, with its outdoor kitchen, pond-side dining, and integrated grill, extends the central living space without rupture. The wellness area, complete with a sauna and plunge pool, serves as a domestic ritual space, bridging comfort and nature through proximity to the stream. The name “Banánka,” a local term for a female resident of Banka, anchors the project in place and culture. There is a poetic continuity here. The architecture is distinctly modern but unmistakably rooted in its geographic and linguistic context. Banánka stands as a model of how regionalism can be reinterpreted not through imitation but through intention. Banánka House Plans Site Plan | © Paulíny Hovorka Architects Floor Plan | © Paulíny Hovorka Architects Axonometric View | © Paulíny Hovorka Architects Banánka House Image Gallery About Paulíny Hovorka Architects Paulíny Hovorka Architects is a Slovak architectural studio based in Banská Bystrica, founded by Martin Paulíny and Braňo Hovorka in 1998. The studio is known for its context-sensitive designs that prioritize material honesty, spatial clarity, and sustainable construction. Their work spans residential and commercial projects, focusing on integrating architecture into its natural and urban surroundings through thoughtful concepts and precise detailing. Credits and Additional Notes Lead Architects: Braňo Hovorka, Martin Paulíny Co-author: Natália Galko Michalová Design Team: Veronika Ivanovičová, Lenka Kopfová, Radovan Krajňak Structural Engineer: Pavol Hubinský Landscape Architect: Martin Sučič Gross Floor Area: 300 m² Usable Floor Area: 244 m² Plot Size: 2,338 m² Monolithic Structure Contractor: Texo Group  Windows and Glazed Walls Supplier: KOYA Windows  Bespoke Furniture: DL INTERIER Bathroom and Kitchen Supplier: Design Club  Built-in Grill Supplier: Gargo Furniture and Lighting Supplier: Triform Factory