The project in Podwileń, known as ‘Dom Skrojony’ and designed by Robert Konieczny’s studio, is the result of a combination of ambitious objectives, changing regulations and the adaptation of the design to new planning conditions. The final form of the house differs significantly from the initial concept, yet it has retained its key ideas. The triangular building makes the most of the advantages of the tree-lined plot, ensuring privacy for the residents and close contact with the garden.
Dom Skrojony – the competition and the initial concept
The story of the Tailored House began in 2016. At that time, the Robert Konieczny KWK Promes studio was invited to take part in a closed competition to design a detached house in a prestigious suburban district of Vilnius – to give an idea, it can be compared to Konstancin-Jeziorna near Warsaw. The neighbourhood consists of loosely scattered houses and holiday homes surrounded by woodland and recreational areas. In the past, interwar wooden houses dominated the area, but, left without proper maintenance, they have given way to new developments over the years.
The client expected the competition entrants to design a house that was open to the greenery whilst also providing his family with a sense of privacy. The winning concept was based on a classic layout featuring an atrium, which the architects from KWK Promes further modified. Raising part of the building to a higher storey has allowed the patio to illuminate the interior more effectively and naturally extend the living space towards the garden. The bedrooms are situated on the upper floor, with access to a shared terrace, from where the residents can enjoy the surroundings without sacrificing the privacy that is so important to them.
A Tailor-Made House and the Regulations That Changed the Design
In 2017, whilst the documentation was still being drawn up, Lithuanian regulations halved the permissible building density on suburban plots. The situation was further complicated by a change to the route of the access road, which now ran directly alongside the garden. This led the client to consider moving the project to a different plot, but the architects convinced him to stay at the original location.
The new constraints, however, necessitated a reduction in the house’s floor area by around 40 per cent. It was at this point that its current triangular form took shape. By reducing the scale of the building, the garden gained more space and the interiors received more natural light, which is particularly important on a wooded plot and in the Lithuanian climate. The original idea for the spatial layout was retained despite significant changes to the concept.
The ‘Skrojony’ House took several years to complete. The result is a highly original project, the final form of which responds to the client’s requirements, legal constraints and the specific characteristics of the surroundings.
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About the practice:
The Robert Konieczny KWK Promes architectural practice has been operating in Katowice since 1999 and is one of the most recognisable Polish architectural firms worldwide. Founded by Robert Konieczny, it specialises in projects that are developed in response to the specific conditions of a site and the needs of its users. The practice has gained international renown thanks to projects such as the Centre for Dialogue ‘Przełomy’ in Szczecin, which was awarded the title of World Building of the Year 2016, and Konieczny’s Ark, recognised as the World’s Best House in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2017. KWK Promes’ projects have been nominated on numerous occasions for the Mies van der Rohe European Union Prize for Architecture, and their works are regularly featured in the world’s leading architecture publications.
design: Robert Konieczny KWK Promes
location: Vilnius, Lithuania
collaboration: Dorota Skóra, Michał Lisiński, Krzysztof Kobiela, Łukasz Marciniak, Mateusz Białek, Katarzyna Ficek
interior design: Yes. Design Architecture
building area: 299 sq m
usable area: residential section 357 sq m, storage and technical section 189 sq m
Construction period: 2019–2025
Photographs: Jakub Certowicz, Juliusz Sokołowski
See also:Detached house|Lithuania|Concrete|Minimalism|whiteMAD on Instagram
