This country house in Pirogovo got its unusual name from the light hand of Totan Kuzembaev, who, in turn, borrowed it from the customer. He once mentioned that in translation into Chinese his surname sounds like "Makalun", where "Ma" is a horse, "Ka" is a sail, and "Lun" is a dragon. The architect liked this ambiguity so much that he immediately christened his new creation with this exotic name. And this is all the more relevant if we consider that the project is largely based on modern interpretations of the techniques of traditional Chinese architecture - thus Totan Kuzembaev paid tribute to the owner's passion for the culture of the Celestial Empire.
The resort "Pirogovo" has not needed a separate introduction for a long time - and it is so clear that the house "Makalun" immediately got into a more than worthy company of works of modern architecture. The site where Totan Kuzembaev was supposed to build his next wooden volume is located near the shoreline of the reservoir, on the main territory of the complex, next to the road through the forest. Accordingly, it was the reservoir and the road that became the starting points in the search for the optimal place for the future home. Kuzembaev turned it with its southern facade to the reservoir, thanks to which a beautiful panorama opens from the house. At the same time, "Makalun" is neatly inscribed between the trees and approaches almost close to the road: the architect tried to preserve the pine forest, which occupies most of the site, as much as possible, so the house slopes down to the road with steps, bypassing and preserving the numerous masts of pine trees.
The architecture of a two-storey house with a total area of about 1200 square meters looks simple and logical - the clean form of the main volume, a gently sloping gable roof, spacious terraces and balconies with graceful wooden fences, panoramic glazing. The devil, as they say, is in the details - in the meticulously worked out details of the decoration, demonstrating the highest level of the architect's skill and the incredible variety of wood used - the material that has become a brand for Totan Kuzembaev. So, all the exterior decoration of the house, excluding the glass surfaces of the stained-glass windows, is made of grooved mahogany boards. The width and density of the arrangement of wooden slats varies, in places folding into a light lattice, and in places passing into a blank wall. Translucent screens are also formed from wood, illuminated at night by many lamps. By the way, this element itself - a screen - is completely Chinese in spirit and origin, was introduced into the architecture of the house precisely because of its "nationality".
The southern façade of the building, facing the water, is predictably more open. A row of slender rusticated columns, belted along their entire height with thin wooden rims, gracefully supports the canopy of the second floor over the wide terrace. In terms of color and thickness, the columns are almost ideally matched to the pine trunks, which are close to the building. Throwing a fleeting glance at the house, it is not immediately possible to distinguish man-made "trunks" from real ones.
Extensive glazing of the southern and northern facades opens the house simultaneously to the forest and to the reservoir shoreline, drawing a soft boundary between the building and its natural surroundings. The architect himself calls these opposite stained glass windows gills, thanks to which the house is filled with air and light during the day, and at night it turns into a source of illumination.
The layout of a house with two aboveground and one underground floors does not go beyond the idea of a traditional suburban dwelling. The floor, located at ground level, contains the public area - the living room, dining room and kitchen, upstairs there are bedrooms and a study, the basement has been turned into a leisure area with a swimming pool, home theater and other related entertainment. The architects of Totan Kuzembaev's studio mastered the underground space at the request of the customer, and two large atriums helped turn the basement into a full-fledged residential floor.
The interiors of the house deserve special attention. What is at least a fireplace that forms the entire space of the living room. In it, the architect develops the main theme of the exterior of the Makalun house, skillfully combining wood and glass that bend into whimsical waves. The wavy surface of the fireplace is, according to Totan Kuzembaev, another nod to China: on the one hand, smooth curves resemble the tops of the majestic Chinese mountains, on the other, glass gaps between oak boards, coupled with spectacular lighting, give rise to associations with the skyscrapers of modern Shanghai or Beijing … Right there, in the living room, there is a light, openwork staircase leading to the second floor. It also contains traditional Chinese ornaments, albeit remotely.
Talking about his project, Totan Kuzembaev noted that the customer dreamed not only of a place of residence, but of a house that he could be proud of. Without a doubt, the author of the Makalun house has every reason to believe that the client's expectations have been fully met.
