It is 175 sq m in size and was built in Kociewie in northern Poland. The single-family house was designed by architects from the IFA Group studio. It is a modern building with a classic pitched roof and a wooden façade that makes a visual connection with the trees growing nearby. The interior of the house is a tribute to minimalism. There, the architects have skilfully combined raw concrete with wooden elements and modern design.
Built in northern Poland, the house almost melts into the surrounding nature. There are already other buildings with pitched roofs in the neighbourhood, so when designing the house, the architects did not look for a form that would draw too much attention to itself, but used classic solutions. The house is located on a plot of 8,000 square metres, and the owner could have built a much larger building, but decided to realise a more modest form that looks good in the landscape.
Interestingly, the building is founded on 10 m long piles and the façade uses local demolition board from an old barn.
The plot in the former lake bed is lowered by 2.5 m from the road level. This condition determined the main conceptual considerations. This dipping of the site not only minimises the visual profile of the building, but preserves the natural character of the area. Driving along the road, we see only part of the building as a small bungalow with a pitched roof. And the rest is a flat roof, projecting 1.4m above the site, as a continuation of the fence line.
The building has been hugged to the road wall to avoid damaging the plot. The retaining wall used has an additional function – it heats the building, the project authors describe.
The clever form has separated two terrace spaces – the western terrace and the eastern terrace. The western one is hidden behind a hedge and reveals a view of the forest, creating a sanctuary of tranquillity. The eastern terrace, on the other hand, is situated on the lake side, so that the residents can observe the surface of the water every day.
The house is distinguished by its cleverly designed interior, which has been heavily glazed. The windows in the bedroom are shaped like traditional solutions from the region. The rest of the house is made up of large panes that allow a clear view and constant contact between the residents and their surroundings. The windows are positioned to frame attractive views from all rooms.
The interior of the house is complemented by furnishings made of natural plywood, designed to measure, and a light beige floor in tones of soft yellow. In the process of pouring the concrete, black pebbles were scattered by hand to evoke the colours of the nearby peat bogs, creating an intriguing contrast between rawness and cosiness.
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Designed in this way, the house not only respects the character of the Kociew landscape, but also subtly engages with its story. Hidden from the sight of passers-by, it reveals itself only to those willing to slow down and listen to the whispering of the grasses by the lakeside.
project: IFAgroup
team: Kamil Domachowski, Karolina Wood-Domachowska, Maciej Busch, Adrianna Jemioł, Jakub Brzuchański, Julia Selimova
photography: Kroniki.studio, Poland by Locals (Sebastian Małaszczyk)
Read also: Single-family home | Minimalism | Wood | Detail | whiteMAD on Instagram
