In the world of architecture, the question of whether it is possible to create a house on difficult, narrow plots of land that not only meets the functional requirements but also becomes a distinctive element of the urban space is increasingly being asked. The answer to these doubts is SKINNY HOUSE, a modernist single-family house in Warsaw, which was built according to a design by architect Paweł Lis.
The design arose from the need to fit into an unusual trapezoidal plot with a front width of just 12 metres and narrowing to 8 metres in depth. The architecture here had to work like a well-tailored outfit – flexible, fitted, yet allowing freedom of movement. The building was set at the sharp boundary of the plot, which allowed for the introduction of additional windows and proper daylighting of the living space. The garage in the block was dispensed with, replacing it with a covered parking space for two cars, giving the interior a clearer functional layout.
The surroundings of the house are a raw, post-punk landscape – untidy buildings, old greenhouses, sheet metal warehouses, fragments of former infrastructure. Against this background, SKINNY HOUSE appears like a contemporary sculpture. At the front, attention is drawn to the monumental canopy ending in a blind wall, supported by a V-shaped steel column. This strong reinforced concrete form gives the building character and emphasises its modernist identity.
The interior of the house was designed with a family of five in mind. The ground floor houses a large, glazed living room connected to the dining room and open kitchen, as well as a study and a boiler room. A distinctive element of the composition is a balcony with a brick barrier, protruding above the living area and enclosed by high walls. The first floor features the parents’ bedroom with en-suite bathroom and dressing room and three children’s rooms, all with access to the terrace running around the building.
The façade was finished with cut tiles of hand-formed brick, arranged in horizontal stripes. Its rough texture and rusty hue allude to the industrial character of the area, placing the house in the context of the site. At the same time, the project meets the requirements of sustainability, with triple-glazed packages in aluminium frames, high-performance PIR insulation, recuperation, a heat pump and a photovoltaic installation. Retention tanks have also been introduced to allow rainwater to be reused in the garden.
SKINNY HOUSE is an example that even on a plot less than 16 metres wide, it is possible to create a house that is simple, functional and yet expressive. It is an architecture that is not afraid of a difficult context but makes conscious use of it, becoming a symbol of transformation in one of the last disordered enclaves of New Italy. Fitting into the post-punk landscape, the building shows that contemporary architecture can be both austere and flexible .
designed by Paweł Lis Architekci(https://www.pawellis.pl)
collaboration: Karolina Osuchowska
photography: Oskar Tuszyński
Read also: Single-family house | Warsaw | Modernism | Facade | Brick | whiteMAD on Instagram
