Studio House: Between Sky, Earth, and Ocean

October 13, 2025

Studio House: Between Sky, Earth, and Ocean

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A poetic residence at the edge of a Costa Rican jungle, by Formafatal, where architecture dissolves into nature while being grounded to earth.

At the edge of the Costa Rican jungle, on a sloping terrain that falls in two directions, architect Dagmar Štěpánová of Formafatal has created a home that defies boundaries. Studio House, her own permanent residence and seasonal retreat for her partner Karel Vančura, is not simply a villa; it is a living dialogue between architecture, nature, and the self.

From its rammed earth walls to its treetop terraces, Studio House is a place where the wilderness is everywhere, where the sky, jungle, and ocean move through the interiors with every passing moment.

Founded in 2015 by Dagmar Štěpánová, Formafatal is an award-winning studio working across architecture, interiors, exhibition, and product design. From its dual bases in Costa Rica and Prague, the practice combines empathy, craftsmanship, and sustainability with a respect for context.

A Symbiosis of Architecture and Place

“The design begins with respect for the land. The 11,000 sqm plot, covered in mature trees, dictated the villa’s form and orientation. Rather than impose a geometry upon the slope, the structure bends to its contours, avoiding roots and weaving itself into the hillside,” explains the architect and the home-owner.

The house turns its back on conventional façades: in the main living space, an entire wall is absent, replaced by open air and jungle soundscapes. Here, the rhythm of sun and stars becomes the architecture, reminding inhabitants that they are part of the ecosystem rather than spectators behind glass.

Open Yet Hidden

From the road, the home appears as a minimalist form of rammed earth and sliding glass. Step inside, and the boundaries dissolve into terraces, platforms, and pathways that stitch interior and exterior together.

“More than half the villa’s footprint is devoted to terraces and a pool. Upstairs, the kitchen and living area open to the Pacific, merging seamlessly with an outdoor grill terrace,” explains Dogmar.

A long COR-TEN steel staircase descends dramatically to a 10-metre infinity pool, its geometry echoing the topography and extending into a rooftop terrace among the trees.

Despite its openness, the house retains intimacy. Bedrooms tucked into the lower level remain hidden, visible only from the garden. Compact yet generous in outlook, they connect directly to the pool and ocean views.

Between Sky and Earth

The interiors are defined by elemental materials and luminous detailing. A four-metre concrete island anchors the upper level, while cabinetry with laser-cut steel doors glows at night, projecting constellations across the space. Downstairs, bedroom doors echo the moonlight, merging real and imagined skies.

Natural finishes, rammed earth, pigmented cement, hot-rolled steel, and cedar wood, embody the wabi-sabi philosophy of impermanence and transformation. Carefully curated artworks by Josef Achrer Jr., Lukáš Musil, and Studio GEOMETR punctuate the raw palette, alongside handmade furniture designed by Štěpánová and iconic pieces from Vitra, Moooi, and Ligne Roset.

Every gesture in the home draws the inhabitants outward: a hallway drenched in red-gold sunset light, a shower with direct views of the ocean, a rooftop perch for stargazing. Studio House is less an object in the landscape than a frame for the endless theatre of the jungle and sea.

Project Details