The flat is located in an old tenement in the Żoliborz district of Warsaw. Situated in a building from the late 1930s, the premises posed many limitations, but offered the possibility of living in a historical fabric. The metamorphosis of its interior was undertaken by architects from jlw studio. This is how they transformed this 78 sq m space!
In the heart of Warsaw’s Żoliborz district, on Słowackiego Street, there is a flat from the years 1928-1930. The building, originally a four-storey structure, gained a fifth floor in the 1960s, which changed its silhouette forever and contributed to a series of conservation guidelines affecting every subsequent renovation.
Architect Joanna Lemka-Wójcik faced a difficult task. The building administration imposes iron-clad rules: partition and load-bearing walls remain intact, no openings can be made in them, and the floors retain their original joists and screed. Even the replacement of a single-phase installation with a three-phase installation is not permitted. These restrictions are due to the stability of the structure and the interference with the upper floors from decades ago.
The designers decided to keep the original layout – a long, elegant corridor connects the kitchen with the dining room, the living room and the bedroom. The almost half-metre-thick load-bearing walls on the sides dictate the direction of the layout, but allow the door wings to the dining room and living room to be removed, opening up the space and letting in more light.
The kitchen-dining room project proved to be the most challenging in the history of jlw studio’s work. The room was cramped, with the few windows set so low that the window sills reflected the awkward working angle. On top of this, the need to fit a washing machine, as the bathroom – small and without the possibility of enlargement – had no room for it.
The solution turned out to be to ‘condense’ all the white goods into an alcove, like the ‘dirty’ kitchens of old. In the remaining dining area stood a large, comfortable table inherited from the investor’s grandmother. Opposite it, there is an illuminated sideboard – a recess in the wall, where decorative porcelain and crystal glasses get their due light.
The living room was transformed into a place reminiscent of the history of the place. The original brick wall was uncovered, its raw texture gently illuminated by a subtle LED light. The restored parquet floor has regained its original shine, and Italian stoneware has appeared in the entrance area, kitchen and bathroom, contrasting with the warmth of natural wood.
In all rooms, the characteristic curved joints between the ceiling and wall, the so-called ‘bottle’, have been retained, while black light fittings and Omnires fittings in the bathroom emphasise elegance and stylistic consistency. The black colour also runs through the skirting boards and unifies the individual areas into a unified whole.
The most important ingredient in this realisation was the mutual trust between the designer and the investors. Thanks to the freedom to choose the details and the author’s supervision, the result corresponds to the concept in almost ninety-nine per cent, showing that even in the face of numerous formal restrictions, it is possible to create a space full of harmonious history and modernity.
photos: Marta Behling – Vertical Level Photography
design: jlw studio
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