House Around the Tree

In Okrokana near Tbilisi, Georgia, TIMM Architecture has crafted a contemporary residence harmonizing with its natural setting. Their design, rooted in minimalism and essentiality, fosters a seamless connection between indoors and outdoors. Centered around a tree, the building embodies a space without boundaries, showcasing structural simplicity, openness, and the use of natural materials aligned with the client’s vision.

The challenging topography provided an opportunity to utilize level changes for a clear programmatic division. The three-level house, adapted to the sloped terrain, maximizes its position, enhancing the relationship with nature and enriching residents’ daily lives. The lower part, destined for the entrance and a garage, is surmounted by a plateau-like deck hosting the living room, kitchen, lounge, interspersed with gardens and a swimming pool, taking full advantage of the panoramic views. Exposed concrete defines the raw, neutral palette of the open-plan living zone, providing an efficient, convivial ambience, enhanced and warmed by light and shadows. Steel finishes and slender “cross-shape” steel pillars interrupt with distinctive detailing and sculptural signs the overall tonal uniformity of the contemporary aesthetic language, conferring notes of refined contrast.

The non-aligned arrangement of volumes avoids imposing on the land, while the angled linear layout, fragmented by courtyards and verandas, breaks formal rigidity, highlighting the harmonious relationship between architecture and landscape. A staircase wraps around an indoor tree, ensuring ample daylight and starlit views through a large skylight. The house appears to float on the upper floor, wrapped in vertical wooden brise-soleils that create a sense of lightness and continuity with nature. The louvers provide sun protection and ventilation while offering expansive visual exposures and spatial experiences.

A project of great satisfaction for both architects and clients, due to the deep common affinities that allowed them to celebrate with sensibility and live with emotion in the place.