A house has been built on the shores of one of the Masurian lakes, offering a modern interpretation of traditional architecture. The BRRRDA house, designed by Marcin Tomaszewski of the REFORM Architekt practice, is a project that draws on the well-known archetype of the Brda holiday home, using it as inspiration to create a contemporary form set within the landscape.
The starting point was the question of how architecture can coexist with its surroundings whilst retaining its distinctiveness and coherence. Tomaszewski drew on the Brda form – one of the icons of Polish holiday architecture – treating it as material for interpretation. As he emphasises: “I was interested in the memory of this form, not the form itself. I wanted people looking at this house to feel something familiar, but at the same time to know straight away that this is contemporary architecture.”
Three volumes, one story
The BRRRDA house scheme has been divided into three distinct volumes, each assigned its own function: the owners’ area, a space for their son, and a section for guests. It is only when these are brought together that they form a complete house, which reverses the typical design process. Instead of a single volume filled with functions, here it is the functions themselves that seem to shape the building’s structure. The connections between the volumes are achieved using connectors clad in a reflective coating. They reflect the surroundings, thereby becoming a functional element that does not disrupt the composition. They allow the three parts to work together whilst retaining their individual character.
Geometry Subordinated to Function
The form of the BRRRDA house stems from the residents’ needs. Every shift in the volume has its justification and creates functional spaces exactly where they are needed: above the entrance, above the garage entrance, and above the terrace by the living room, where one of the volumes extends well beyond the relaxation area, offering a covered space for relaxing in the open air. “Every offset had to serve a purpose. To establish proportion, create rhythm, open up a view or provide shelter exactly where it was needed. I didn’t want to add further elements to the house. I wanted the building itself to meet all these needs,” explains Marcin Tomaszewski.
The result is a composition that combines expressiveness with functional clarity. The form enhances its use, whilst its use organises the form.
Materials
The project’s strong roots in the Masurian context are also evident in the choice of materials. The warm, ceramic colour scheme references the region’s traditional buildings, yet the ceramics have been treated as a fully-fledged element of contemporary architecture. Slender ceramic modules form the structure of the façade and roofs, creating play of light and shadow and altering the perception of the house depending on the time of day.
The vertical arrangement of these elements evokes the image of a rural picket fence, and the same motif has been carried over to the property’s boundary fence, making the plot boundary part of the same narrative. “Ceramics are one of the most traditional materials we have. However, I didn’t want to use them in a traditional way. I was more interested in the question of what this material could be today,” adds the architect.
The striking lightness of the structure
One of the most distinctive features of the BRRRDA house is the cantilevered volume extending over the terrace. It is supported by a slender V-shaped structure, which lends the whole design a sense of lightness and opens up the ground floor to the garden and the lake. This solution has become one of the project’s most recognisable features, combining structural precision with a form that is distinctive yet subordinate to its setting.
The BRRRDA house draws on local references – the geometry of the roofs, ceramics, vertical divisions, and the relationship with the landscape – but each of these elements has been reinterpreted in a contemporary language. The design builds on tradition, treating it as a source of inspiration. “We can draw on what came before us, but when creating something new, we should have the courage to truly create something new,” sums up Marcin Tomaszewski.
design:REFORM Architekt
architect: Marcin Tomaszewski
photographs: Piotr Krajewski
See also: Detached house | Villas and residences | REFORM Architekt | Greenery | whiteMAD on Instagram
