Environmentally friendly architecture with folk elements

English translation of the article of Rasa Pangonytė, LRT.lt published at lrt.lt on 2025.05.10.

When designing the thatched house located next to the Verkiai Regional Park, architects Gytis and Ramunė Gasperaičiai sought a harmonious relationship with the environment, and when creating the interior, they focused on details that reflect individuality. 

A form that blends into nature

“We reacted to the environment,” is how architect R. Gasperaitienė describes the main idea of ​​the architecture. The shape of the long house, significantly flattened at one end, is not accidental – it was born taking into account the line of the nearby pond. “The north side responds more to the pond. It would have been easier to make that end straight, but we wanted to respond to the line of the pond with the flowing water,” says the architect. The house is built from a Lithuanian-made product – straw and wood panels, which are manufactured in a factory and assembled at the construction site according to the architects’ design. “The technology of straw panels is already fully recognized, even certified. People abroad are also very happy to build with them, because it creates a different interior atmosphere,” says R. Gasperaitienė.

When building with straw panels, you can choose any facade finish. For this, the architects chose burnt wood.

The traditional structure of the house is also reflected in the layout of the spaces – upon entering, you enter the vestibule, where the boiler room and utility area are located. From here, you enter the common space, which serves as a distribution area, from which you can access all other rooms.

The kitchen area is designed so that furniture and appliances “pollute” the space as little as possible, which is why most of the elements are integrated into the walls.

The large windows offer a view of the water and tall pine trees. In the evening, when outdoor lights illuminate the trees, the interior space optically expands even more and creates the impression of a more spacious house, although the actual area is not large – 145 sq. m.

“As an architect, you get the local situation, the limitations, and the client’s wishes and desires. Then you think about how to plan that space so that it, as I say, like in that river – is not straight and uniform, but moves a little. This way, the passage in the space narrows somewhere, widens somewhere, a window opens somewhere, somewhere it is light, somewhere it is just dark. It turns out such a game,” – reveals the factors determining space planning, architect R. Gasperaitienė.

Life-giving clay

Clay was used to finish the interior walls. It strengthens the straw and ensures a good microclimate and acoustics. “Clay also has the property that the corners can be rounded. This gives it coziness, warmth, and humanity,” says R. Gasperaitienė. Some of the walls of the house have “windows of justice” left in them – uncovered parts of straw thatch, reminding us of what the house is made of.

The clay finish created by decorator Edvardas Kaltanas is slightly different in each space. In the hallway, its texture is calmer, on the fireplace wall and in the bedroom, it is more expressive.

R. Gasperaitienė says that the idea for the fireplace wall decoration came from memories of the seaside – sand washed up by the water. The decorator realized the architect’s vision with his own hands, using a photo taken of her.

The greenish, deeply textured walls of the bedroom echo the mood of the nearby forest. The room is given a sense of plasticity by the decorator’s sculptural window sill and curved ceiling line. The master bathroom is finished with microcement and – in tribute to the client who loves color – green tiles.

The architect says that clay finishing is not practical in wet areas. “Clay is a living material, it drinks water, even if you oil it, so in wet areas we choose tiles or microcement,” explains R. Gasperaitienė.

Due to its strength and practicality, microcement, rather than clay mortar, was also chosen for the floors of the main spaces.

Individuality in the details

When creating the interior, much attention was paid to details and individuality. All cabinet furniture – from the kitchen to the hallway wardrobe – is designed and manufactured specifically for this interior. The furniture is made of expressive oak veneer with knot inclusions, which help create the impression of solid wood.

An oak dining table and bench, created especially for this house and its residents. “We went to the master and said that we needed very large oak boards. He said I have them, but they have kinivarpa, no one wants to look at them. We said that’s all we need,” the architect laughs.

The kitchen cabinet and the bookshelf in the living room are decorated with traditional Baltic patterns drawn by the architect herself.

“Baltic writings have their own text,” says the architect. “I specifically made it so that it would not be repeated. I wanted someone to always see something different when sitting and perhaps draw attention to one or another sign,” says R. Gasperaitienė.

Some of the decor elements are the result of a joint creative process between the owner and the architect. Thinking about how to use the metal sundial that the clients had, R. Gasperaitienė decided to decorate the hallway floor with it. This resulted in a round inclusion in the microcement floor, with pebbles and pieces of amber surrounding the metal sundial. The interior is complemented by a straw garden – a hint about the hobbies and values ​​of the people living here.

The walls of the house are decorated with works of art. As R. Gasperaitienė says, they are not accidental, they were acquired by the owners during their lives, and therefore very expensive. The paintings were another reason for the more moderate decoration of the walls.

“If we decorated all the walls, we wouldn’t be able to hang artwork because we would have to display the walls,” the architect says of the meticulously thought-out details.

R. Gasperaitienė says that by designing straw-panel buildings, she wants to refute the stereotype that clay and straw are only suitable for buildings with traditional architecture. “We aim to bring local, ecological building materials – clay and straw – to new life,” says the architect.

The success of this project was also determined by the long-standing acquaintance with the clients – architects Gasperaičiai designed an apartment for this family a couple of decades ago. As a result, communication with the clients was smoother, and the solutions were more tailored to the needs and interests of the owners.

“The architect is only a mediator between ensuring that the space is intact and ensuring that the client feels as comfortable as possible in it,” says architect R. Gasperaitienė, speaking about her mission in the project.