The praise of simplicity. A modest house in Poznań

The building is 186 square metres and was designed by the Ktura Architekci studio. The modest house was built in Strzeszyn, a part of Poznań with many single-family houses. The house is distinguished by its minimalist form and bright façade.

Working on the design of the building, architect Katarzyna Buczkowska-Grobecka optimised the designed form to fit the building to the investor’s needs.

I reduced a few dozen metres of space and designed a house for people, not for cars with a dream courtyard in front of the house. By withdrawing the garage and the technical part, the terrace forms a closed recreation area. Thewithdrawal of the garage block freed up space, also giving the possibility to freely park in front of the house,” admits the architect.

The two birch trees at the front played an important role from the start. Already at the first site visit, they strongly defined the design of the plot. They are a green accent that makes the whole development more attractive. There are many residential buildings in the vicinity of the house, so the architect’s task was to design a volume that would not dominate in terms of architecture and scale, but would soften the architectural expression of this part of the city. The house had to be as simple and compact as possible. It is simple because it was designed on a strong longitudinal compositional axis that clearly divides it into two parts: white and black, home and garage.

I wanted the reading of the building’s architecture to be clear, logical and very transparent from all sides. The garage is part of the building, but architecturally it is a cube added to the house. It is the backdrop and interior wall of the courtyard, where the morning and afternoon games and daily life are played out,” adds the designer.

Zobacz

Connecting the white and black parts are glass dilettos, which illuminate the interior of the garage but are also an attractive architectural detail, especially in the evening.

The courtyard in front of the house is connected to the kitchen through a vertical window. This is a very important glazing in the house. It gives the possibility to shorten communication especially in spring and summer and a good daily eye contact of the residents with each other being inside and outside.

The materials that I have designed in this house both in the architecture and in the interior are very different visually, sensorially and even in terms of smell. The architecture and the interior are directly connected and the design of the two parts took place simultaneously.

In the interior of the simple house, the main and most important element is the small mezzanine floor. Here again, it connects the upstairs with the downstairs, i.e. the living area with the bedroom area. The entrance from the side is spacious, comfortable and, above all, separated from the living area by a short corridor ending with vertical axial lighting. The success of this house is certainly the best possible cooperation between me and the Investor at the design stage, but above all during realisation. It developed from month to month in a good direction,” concludes the architect.

project: Ktura Architekci https://kturaarchitekci.pl

Photos: Przemyslaw Turlej http://turlejfoto.weebly.com

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