AB 61 is a tiny vacation house for two located in Havisce, Jadranovo.

CONTEXT

The Croatian coast, The Crikvenica Riviera, a small tourist place on the seacoast – Jadranovo, a bay of Havisce, only an hour and a half far away from the capital of Croatia, Zagreb.

Built in 1961, this vacation house is perched on a slightly elevated position in relation to the sea and the beach with a beautiful view of the island Krk. It is part of a micro-ambiance of small houses with floor plan areas of up to 50m2, surrounded by a green oasis and breathtaking views and offers a true escape from the bustling city life. The owner’s wish was to renovate the old and derelict small house, which had a floor plan area of 40m2, give it a new life cycle while preserving and utilizing the existing built elements.

CONCEPT

The main architectural idea was to restore the initial essence of this house as a „basic escape for two”. Although the history of previous owners is irrelevant for most people, the history of this house was carefully perceived and then reinterpreted with a contemporary design approach.

The transformation of the shape of the house from triangular gable walls into cube with a sea view has refined substandard closed and low interior into airy and unique view, and has also enhanced the connection between the interior and the surrounding nature and has upgraded the found context of the place.

All the above implied, beside sanation and eliminating decrepit parts of the house, also an integration of the replaced segments. The change has been strong emphasized and embedded into logical expression of the present time. The stone walls have been retained and they support the structure of both, the existing and new house. The lasted cover, beams, plasterboard walls and a wooden impassable roof was crucial to remove and replace it with a new concrete-glass frame.

The aim was to accomplish the continuity of a functional modern miniature oasis for a short break from the everyday city life – a tiny vacation house for two.

CURIOSITIES

Quote about the house from the book AB61:

“…The first owners were Ana and Boris, a married couple who built a miniature holiday home in 1961. Boris was an architect and did most of it with his own hands. We didn’t have the chance to meet them, but we really liked their philosophy that a house by the sea should not have a lot of square footage, but the emphasis is on spending time in nature and on the sea itself. For them, the house had to be functional and practical, and arrivals and departures to the sea unencumbered and simple. For us, the house had to remain exactly like that – functional and practical, with the stamp of the new era. We choose to believe that we completed it and that the original owners would like everything we did.

We heard all kinds of really interesting stories about Boris and Ana. The whole village knew them for their crazy fashion statement and the kayak they went everywhere with. With that kayak, they discovered Havisce bay and decided to be the first to build their miniature house there. In fact, in the 1960s, Boris designed for himself and Ana somewhat revolutionary swimsuits at the time, which they proudly showed off by carrying a kayak around the site – Ana’s swimsuit with thong briefs, and his own Tarzans. In the old days, they drove some crazy convertible car and stayed crazy until the very end.

It seems to us that they lived life to the fullest and we wish we had the opportunity to meet them, we think they would get along great. They were deeply fond of Havisce – they really adored this settlement. They documented everything and when we bought the house, we received a real treasure as a gift – old photos, original documents and notes from 1961 from Boris and Ana…”