This Surrealist Cob House Is Straight Out of Lord of the Rings

It might seem straight out of a fantasy novel, but this Surrealist cob house in Kazakhstan is far from fiction; in fact, it lays down a blueprint for reimagining ancient building techniques for present day sustainable architecture. “When people first encounter our house, they struggle to believe it’s a residence,” says Dilyara Mazhitova. “Most assume it’s a public space—a restaurant or a retreat. People simply don’t build homes like this.” Nestled against a mountainside in the rugged Alatau region surrounding Almaty, Kazakhstan, Mazhitova’s home is indeed singular, bringing to mind the cavelike villas designed by maverick French architect Jacques Couëlle in the 1950s and ’60s, or the rustic dwellings of Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest metropolis, is set in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains.

This house is nestled into Almaty’s naturally breathtaking landscape.

The couple that occupies this house conceived it sustainably with the help of a construction team and interior designer.

In fact, the house’s inspiration lies entirely elsewhere. Mazhitova and her husband, Vladimir Radostovets, designed and built it themselves, with the help of a hand-picked construction team and an interior designer. The couple were originally lawyers, but that represents only a fraction of their talents: Mazhitova has since turned entrepreneur, project manager, and art dealer, while Radostovets is also a builder and inventor, notably in the field of sound engineering. The couple has even built a factory that specializes in geosynthetic materials. Many of these creative strands proved vital when, one day, Radostovets had a radical idea: to build a cob house from scratch.

Inside, organic materials and textures reign.

As do curves and other organic forms.

Both the color palette and shapes represent the Kazakh couple’s organic design philosophy.

What is a Cob House?

Cob houses are an ancient form of adobe construction used all over the world, constructed primarily from locally sourced natural materials such as clay, sand, straw and water. They are highly ecologically efficient, generating little waste and possessing natural insulation properties that reduce energy consumption. Durable enough to last centuries, they can be quick to build: the initial plan was for this home to be constructed over three months. However, this wasn’t how things panned out. “Vladimir bought several books on cob construction and began studying the subject,” remembers Mazhitova. “In the end, the project stretched over 10 years, as the house transformed into an art piece that we sculpted, modified and perfected.”