- Project: Private House
- Architect: NS STUDIO
- Location: Georgia, Tvaladi
- Year: 2023
- Area: 700 m2
- Photography: Grigory Sokolinsky
Nestled in the Georgian village of Tvaladi, NS Studio crafts a residence that fuses historical memory and contemporary architecture. A robust stone façade grounds the building in local vernacular while generous glazing and refined timber volumes open the home to the surrounding hills, establishing a poised balance between rootedness and openness.
This design pursues a dialogue between past and present—a calm domestic architecture that feels anchored yet forward-looking, tactile yet refined. The house is largely single-storey, bending gently to accommodate views and daily rituals.
A Modern Homage to Georgian Vernacular
Public areas—living, dining, and kitchen—unfold along a glazed wing that frames the landscape, while private bedrooms in a more opaque wing are tuned for retreat. Clerestories and skylights punctuate the roofline to draw soft daylight deep into the plan without compromising privacy.
A perpendicular cellar structure extends from the main volume, repeating the language of stone, wood, and crisp lines. It anchors the composition, adds functional storage and tasting space, and completes a subtle courtyard geometry that shelters outdoor life from the wind.
Spatial Organization & Layout
The social wing’s floor-to-ceiling glazing acts as a living panorama; interiors spill onto terraces that step with the terrain. In contrast, the bedroom wing remains introspective, with carefully placed clerestories and skylights that curate light, sky, and seasonal change. Circulation is simple and legible, encouraging cross-ventilation and easy movement across daily routines.
The house interfaces with the land rather than dominating it: low rooflines, tactile materials, and a measured footprint let the topography and vegetation remain protagonists in the scene.
Materiality & Architectural Expression
The palette celebrates natural textures and structural honesty:
- Exterior stone walls reference local tradition and add thermal mass.
- Timber appears in structure, ceilings, and bespoke joinery, warming the interior tone.
- Expansive glazing in the social wing injects light and frames the site.
- Interior finishes balance coarse stone with smooth wood and plaster for a refined rusticity.
Large windows transform nature into an interior surface; shadows from eaves and reveals create a slow, time-of-day register on walls and floors, accentuating the home’s meditative pace.
Light, Comfort & Atmosphere
Daylight is the guiding element. Clerestories lend an even, ambient glow; deep reveals temper glare; and night lighting is largely indirect, emphasizing texture and volume. The plan and openings promote cross-ventilation for summer comfort, while the mass and layers retain warmth in colder months.
The result is a layered sensory experience—stone underfoot, timber overhead, landscape all around—where interior and exterior feel woven together by light and air.
A Continuum of Old and New
Private House in Tvaladi reads as a meditation on place, memory, and light. Rather than a statement piece, NS Studio composes a quiet architecture of sensitivity—one that gives voice to the land’s character while providing a refined, durable home for its inhabitants. The house feels at once anchored in Georgian heritage and attuned to the present—a balanced synthesis of tradition and modernity.
As the day turns, the architecture’s restraint becomes expressive—shadows deepen, materials glow, and the home’s quiet character comes to the fore, reinforcing its contemplative ambience.
The cellar wing, gardens, and hardscape together choreograph outdoor living rooms that are seasonally adaptable—from shaded summer meals to crisp autumn evenings by the stone walls’ stored warmth.
