Initially, the workshop commissioned a project for the entire recreation center, and Totan Kuzembaev's team developed a master plan for the Cote d'Azur, draft designs for public facilities, and proposals for the improvement of the pier and embankment with a floating pool. Within the framework of this large-scale work, guest houses intended for vacationers were perhaps the most unobtrusive stage. The architects managed to come up with even such unusual volumes as a summer suspended teahouse and a drop-shaped terrace-dance floor for the future base, when it suddenly became clear that the customer intends to limit himself to the construction of only cottages. So the initially secondary object became the main and only one, simultaneously revealing how carefully and unconventionally Totan Kuzembaev's workshop approaches the design of each volume.
The requirements that were originally imposed on the guest house are simple and more than predictable - with the maximum efficiency of the structure, it should have had an outstanding, memorable appearance and comfortable layout, in general, become the place where it is pleasant to relax and where you want to return. At the same time, the customer planned to use the project many times, gradually increasing the number of houses, so Kuzembaev had to offer some kind of universal architectural solution that would only benefit from possible replication. The very task of creating some kind of temporary abstract housing prompted the architect a figurative idea for the project: if one house here is part of a whole, and the whole can take years to develop, then it seemed most appropriate for Kuzembaev to compare the guesthouse with a puzzle piece. This metaphor is reflected both in the name of the house and in the decoration of its blank wall.
The plan of the house grew out of its purpose: an extremely lapidary part with private and technical rooms (bedrooms, bathrooms, stairs, etc.) is complemented by freely drawn recreation areas - both indoor and outdoor. These areas are quite varied: in addition to the usual living room space combined with the kitchen and dining room, there are open and closed terraces, long galleries with ramps, green roofs, a barbecue area and even an open-air bathroom. The system of these spaces embodies another artistic concept that is important for Kuzembaev, which he himself calls “a mat for the forest”. In other words, this house is conceived as a means of contemplating the centuries-old forest that surrounds it. That is why, in all isolated rooms, huge window openings without bindings are designed, two opposite walls of the living room diverge slightly in the plan, setting the direction for admiring the surrounding landscape, and the open spaces of the house are so numerous - according to the architect, if a person went out into nature, you should not fence off from her walls.
The premises are arranged in such a way that they gradually "take out" the inhabitant from the inner space to the outer one, through the covered terrace to the open one, from the gallery to a gentle ramp. Techniques that actually blur the border between the house and the forest help to realize the same idea: the facade of the building goes into its interior, the fences of the terraces are transparent, and some of the walls of the guest area are designed as vertical blinds. In addition, in accordance with the original project, green plants will "sprout" through the roof of the house: while the greening of the roof has not been implemented, but thanks to modern insulating materials, this does not present any difficulty.
The interiors of the house, confirming the idea of a mat, are distinguished by the utmost conciseness and clarity. Their main decoration is massive glued beams, which are part of the structural scheme of a frame house in its structure. Their rhythm is a little more frequent than it is necessary to fulfill the load-bearing function, which is done for decorative purposes - in the interior spaces there is a feeling of dynamism.
There is one more technique in the solution of the house, which simultaneously solves both utilitarian and aesthetic problems. These are staircases duplicating each other to the second floor. One is located in the inner space near the bedrooms; the other is on a gallery enclosed by a jalousie wall and echoing with its verticals the rhythm of the beams. Along this wall, a staircase leads to an open terrace on the second floor. This technique allows the owners to rent out the cottage as a whole or floor by floor. Visually, the stairs are connected, and together with the translucent wall and passage along the gallery, they create a multi-layered space that is slightly intricate and incredibly attractive.
By the way, the "Puzzle House" also exists in a one-story version. In this case, the outer staircase leads to the operated roof, and the inner one disappears, which makes the space easier, but enlarges it. As Totan Kuzembaev himself says: "This city needs beautiful and representative buildings, but here, in the forest and on the water, only very simple, laconic architecture can exist."
