A Czech Architect’s Modern Retreat on Historic Château Grounds

In the South Bohemian village of Kamenná Lhota, House Oskar is Prague-based architect Jan Žaloudek‘s own home—a retreat for himself and his wife, art historian and writer Jolanta Trojak—within the former gardens and Baroque barn of a neighboring château.

The house, named after composer Oskar Nedbal, takes inspiration from both the rural vernacular and concept of a chapel, tempered by the constraints of building on a culturally-protected site. Its elongated form and gabled roof recall traditional agricultural buildings, while its defining feature—a perforated southern gable wall—filters like a screen, animating the interior with shifting patterns of shadow and sun. Niches on each façade form loggias and entryways that allow the house itself to breathe: it can open fully to the orchard and fields or close for a retreat.

Inside, the palette is spare: white stucco walls, concrete floors, custom ash furniture, granite, and Czech larch. Sculptural elements, niches, and arches are a nod to ecclesiastical architecture. Furthermore, Žaloudek and Trojak have envisioned the space as a Gesamtkunstwerk, open to the public, whether through rentals or as a venue for artist residencies, events, and workshops. More than a private residence, House Oskar is a study in how art, architecture, and landscape convene to form a unified whole.

Photographed by Boys Place Nice for Jan Žaloudek.