Valley Villa, Vilnius

Valley Villa is a single-family house built on the outskirts of Vilnius, Lithuania, by architecture practice Arches. The plot is planted with pines, a presence that directly shaped the treatment of the facades.

The envelope is clad in Kebony Clear. The colour and texture of the modified wood were chosen to extend the immediate forest setting visually, while keeping a crisp architectural language of simple volumes and large glazed areas.

Kebony modified wood is a softwood impregnated with a bio-based liquid, a process that gives it high durability and dimensional stability with no maintenance beyond routine cleaning. In the Lithuanian continental climate, with its long winters and wide temperature swings, that stability limits movement in the cladding. The material greys gradually on exposed elevations. Photography: Aksel Jermstad.