The “Obelisk House”, designed by Petr Sovetnikov and Vera Stepanskaya (KATARSIS) joined the Nikola-Lenivets bunch of “art object” houses last year, having changed its name at least once (we will discretely refrain from telling you the original one). Then it took some time to finish it, and it was only recent that the architects felt up to showing their creation in all living glory, and finally sent us its photographs.

Although its authors call the house “Obelisk” now, the first thing that comes to mind when you look at it is a chimney – the kind that usually survives along with the brick furnace after something happens to a wooden house (burned down or just rotted away and collapsed). Nothing seems to be able to destroy this brick furnace that keeps staying out in the fields forever and ever. And, of course, it immediately evokes associations with the brick stove from the Russian fairy tales that used to force-feed children with her tasty pies – at least because the house, just like the stove from the old Russian cartoon, is kind of hiding behind the trees. It looks like it’s about to say “Come and taste my pies, children”. And I’ve saved the best for last: the only window that the house has is horizontal, and it looks like very much a mouth.