The House of Five Roofs: Architecture as Distance from the City

Set along the edge of the Volga in Russia’s Tver region, the House of Five Roofs by the Alexander Tischler design company, led by Karen Karapetian, is less a domestic structure than a redefinition of how space can be lived. Currently in the design phase, with completion projected for 2029, the project begins with a clear premise: that architecture outside the city must offer something fundamentally different from it.

Where urban living is shaped by constraint—regulation, repetition, and fixed typologiesthis house is built on the idea of spatial freedom. Not as excess, but as possibility.

The architecture is organised into three primary volumes, each rising vertically and housing distinct aspects of daily life. One contains the kitchen and living space, another the master suite, and the third the children’s rooms. These volumes are not simply functional divisions. They are orientated carefully toward the surrounding landscape, ensuring that each space engages with a different aspect of the site. The result is a house defined not by internal hierarchy, but by its relationship to nature.

Connection, rather than separation, becomes the guiding principle. A linear hallway links the volumes, but also extends the experience of the landscape through a sequence of views. From the moment of entry, the eye is drawn outward, culminating in a large window that frames the river beyond. Movement through the house becomes a gradual unfolding, where interior and exterior are held in constant dialogue.

This contrast is reinforced at the threshold. The façade facing the road is deliberately closed, almost monolithic, offering privacy and restraint. In contrast, the interior opens toward the water with transparency and light. The architecture establishes a clear boundary between exposure and retreat, between the public and the private.

Material choices deepen this relationship. Larch shingles wrap both roof and façade, their texture designed to evolve over time, weathering into a silvery grey that mirrors the tones of the surrounding landscape. The reference is subtle but intentional. The surface recalls the scales of a fish, embedding the house within the ecological logic of its riverside setting.

Light, too, is treated as a structural element. With the house oriented north toward the Volga, traditional window placement would limit natural illumination. Instead, skylights are introduced, allowing daylight to enter from above. This decision reshapes the atmosphere of the interior. Rooms are filled with shifting light during the day, while at night the ceiling dissolves into sky.

The spatial experience is further amplified by height. Ceilings reaching up to six metres in the primary living areas create a sense of vertical openness that contrasts with the horizontal flow of the plan. These volumes are not designed for spectacle, but for rhythm, allowing the house to expand and contract as one moves through it.

The project’s most distinctive gesture lies in its external form. From the river, the clustered gable roofs evoke the image of a small settlement rather than a singular house. This fragmentation softens the scale of the architecture, allowing it to sit more naturally within its surroundings. It also reflects the clients’ relationship to water, translating a personal affinity into architectural language.

What emerges is a house that resists the idea of domesticity as enclosure. Instead, it proposes living as a continuous interaction with environment, light, and movement. The design does not impose a way of life. It creates the conditions for one.

In this sense, the House of Five Roofs is not defined by its materials or its form alone. It is defined by what it makes possible.