Excerpt: Wheatfield House, a project by Architectural Bureau Better, is a guest residence designed to blend seamlessly with its rural surroundings, drawing inspiration from the expansive wheat fields of the Lipetsk region. Rooted in the client’s love for nature, the design emphasizes harmony with the landscape through soft materials, planted terraces, and minimal, thoughtful architecture.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] Wheatfield House is a guest residence located in a quiet village in the Lipetsk region — a place where dense forests gradually dissolve into endless golden fields. The house opens up to breathtaking views of wheat landscapes that inspired the project’s concept, name, and identity.
From the very beginning, the design process focused on creating harmony with the site — visually, emotionally, and contextually. The surrounding nature, as well as the client’s deep connection to plants and local land, became central to the narrative. A plant lover with a home greenhouse on a neighboring plot, the client’s personality was reflected in every architectural move — including the signature touch: wheat stalks planted around the second-floor terrace, bringing the surrounding fields into direct contact with the house itself.
The house was designed on an existing compact concrete foundation, squeezed between two sides of the plot. This constraint inspired us to rethink scale and proportion. The initial volume resembled a box — too tight, too massive. The solution came through a wrapped-around wooden terrace that added depth, shaded transitions, and functional outdoor space for gatherings, parking, and shelter.
The structure is minimalistic and light in tone, with calm materials that blend into the soft colors of the landscape. On the ground floor: open-plan common areas. Upstairs: three bedrooms with access to a rooftop terrace that invites rest and reflection. Perennial greenery along the perimeter ensures privacy and reinforces the house’s quiet integration with its surroundings.
Better always approaches projects holistically — and this one was no exception. We treated the fence not as a leftover technical task, but as part of the composition. Its broken geometry, combined with plantings, breaks the monotony and brings rhythm to the site. Even the entrance group became a platform for a bit of creative branding. Inspired by our background in design and identity, we created a visual emblem for the house — a slender typographic block resembling stalks in the wind, placed on the front gate.
Later in the process, we explored a modular extension of the house. The Wheatfield concept could grow: a mirrored block could be added, becoming a spa, billiard room, or guest unit. A central courtyard between them features a fire pit and seating area — and the system could scale further.
Wheatfield isn’t just a house near the fields. It’s a house of the fields — rooted in place, personal in detail, and built with care for what already exists. Not to dominate the land, but to belong to it.
Images
