The conceptual design for this country house was developed for a friend I have known since primary school— a friendship that remains special to this day.

Whenever I approach a new project, my intention is to discover something new within it: to imagine what I would want for myself in such a space and to integrate the life and character of the client as deeply as possible into the architecture. This project carries an additional layer of meaning thanks to our personal connection, and even more so because it is rooted in Herzegovina.

For this project, I studied traditional Herzegovinian stone houses, very similar to those my own family owns and where we occasionally spend time. These houses rarely have a single entrance. Instead, each room is accessed directly from the outside, creating a unique rhythm of life and spontaneous movement between the interiors and the courtyard, which becomes the true heart of everyday life.

The energy of these places invites you to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with life itself. This experience reinforces my belief that architecture is, in many ways, an educational discipline - one that shapes the way we inhabit and understand space. Situated within a pomegranate field, the house is composed of three distinct volumes: Silent House for sleeping, Bar House for living and gathering, and Hot House, centred around the hearth and the warmth of the home. All three volumes are unified by a single contemporary element: a flat green roof. This new layer rests above the separated stone structures, connecting them through a covered courtyard where the life of the house naturally unfolds. What happens in this courtyard hardly needs explanation, it simply becomes the centre of everyday life. A swimming pool is placed beside the house, offering relief during the +40°C Herzegovinian summers. It is easy to imagine lighting the grill here and sharing a beer with friends.