Marine 9 is a Modern Fire House with a Matching Red Fireboat on the Staten Island Waterfront

<a href="http://dekleva-gregoric.com/" target="_blank">Dekleva Gregorič Arhitekti</a> recently completed the contemporary Compact Karst House in the windswept countryside of the Karst Plateau. Famous for its beautiful <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/limestone" target="_blank">limestone</a> landscape, Slovenia's Karst Plateau is typically punctuated by the traditional architecture of small, compact, and nearly windowless stony homes. In contrast, the monolithic design of the Compact Karst House simultaneously references this traditional architecture while introducing a contemporary interpretation with clean lines and a minimalist materials palette.

Built for a young family, the 990-square-foot, two-story home features a pitched concrete roof and is clad in light-colored limestone.

The monolithic form is interrupted by skylights and three large square windows that frame views towards the hilltop church to the west, the forest to the south, and the entrance platform to the east.

To create contrast with the home's cool-toned facade, the architects inserted wooden pitched-roof volumes to the middle of the interior that contain the main rooms of the house.

On the ground floor, the untreated wooden volumes demarcate the three communal areas that include the kitchen, living room, and shared bathroom.

A wooden staircase leads up to the second floor, where the bedroom, playroom, and children's room are located.

The bridge connecting both "houses" acts as a playroom

Compact Karst House simultaneously references Karst's traditional architecture while introducing a more contemporary interpretation.

Site plan for the Compact Karst House.

Diagram shows the house-in-a-house concept.

Elevations of the stony exterior.

Floor plans of the two-story house.

Long section view showing the communal rooms on bottom and more private rooms on top.

Section views of the house.