Does architecture photography have to move within the usual patterns? Casa Futura, a house-building in Wroclaw, became the impetus for an attempt to present the building in an unconventional way. We talk to Krzysztof Grześkow of the Rewizja. Grupa projektowa studio about architecture as scenography, the unpredictability of the construction process and the possibilities of using prefabricated technology to build houses.
In 2024, the Casa Futura - a modular house of the future, shaped by harsh conditions and the Japanese philosophy of space- was built in Biskupin, Wroclaw. The task was not an easy one, but for the designer and owner of the house - Krzysztof Grześkow from the studio Rewizja. Design Group - challenges are what give most satisfaction in architecture. There were quite a few of these - from a small 240-square-meter plot with a difficult past, to dense surrounding buildings, to a limited budget. Interestingly, the very specific problems were dealt with through the use of universal solutions, as Casa Futura was built using industrial prefabricated technology and strict modularity. The stories that led to the creation of this building in this and not another form, the author tried to present like no one before, turning his house and studio into a stage set that became the backdrop for a surreal performance.
Casa Futura house in Wroclaw
Photo: Maciej Lulko © Revision. Design Group
a house made of well-fitted blocks
The industrial house construction technology chosen by the architect required appropriate solutions in the design and construction phase. The dimensions of all the most important elements of the building are based on a module, which became multiples of 30 cm in length. This is the dimension of the sides of the columns supporting the house structure. Their doubles are the size of the standing cabinet in the kitchen, while 120x120 cm are the size of the windows and the facade panels made of tan wood. Modularity was also applied on a macro scale - the house was divided into a set of functional modules to accommodate a studio, living spaces or a terrace and an arcade. Thanks to the use of prefabricated components, the construction time of Casa Futura was able to be closed in 100 days, as captured on film.
scenographic dimension of architecture
All this, however, is only a substitute for the factors that make up what Casa Futura is today. Looking for a way to show the nuances of the construction process and, most importantly, how life goes on within the framework created by the house, the author opted for an art project combining scenography, graphics and photography. Krzysztof Grzeskow, founder of the studio Revision, tells us about what he wanted to convey in the "Casa Futura" zine. Design Group.
The zine "Casa Futura"
Photo: Przemyslaw Ciępka
Przemyslaw Ciępka: You organized a very interesting session in your home in Wroclaw, which significantly deviates from the standards of architectural photography. Where did you get such an idea from?
Krzysztof Grześków: I think it came from being bored with the traditional way of presenting architecture. We wanted to introduce something new, theatrical, scenographic. Something that would interest the reader or viewer, but also reflect in a subjective way the nature of the entire construction process and the resulting object. I would say it is a search for a new language of depicting architecture.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
Przemyslaw Ciępka: What, in your opinion, is missing from the current model of presenting architecture ?
Krzysztof Grześków: Describing architecture and showing it in trade magazines or web portals is very much narrowed down to a certain audience, primarily architects and others entrenched in the field. Those photos, drawings, isometric projections or descriptions proving which material is better and which solutions are more beneficial are extremely fascinating to us architects. However, we wanted to go a little beyond this paradigm and present architecture in a different way. Not only for architects, but also for artists, set designers and people who are not so deeply interested in architecture. In fact, this was reflected in the lineup that worked on our session - they were people from very different worlds. I was assisted by Marcin Rosiński, who does graphic design, Ada Gruszka, who is a photographer, and Maciek Lulko, who incorporated his architectural vision into the whole thing. This gave us an interesting mix of different personalities and perspectives from which architecture can be viewed. This photo shoot was conceived from the beginning as material for putting together a magazine, which we plan to publish periodically as Revision. The first issue was produced in an edition of a thousand copies. It is a kind of portfolio, but quite unusual - we wanted to play around and go against the usual patterns of presenting architectural realizations. In each subsequent magazine we will look for a slightly different form of expression.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
Przemyslaw Ciępka: Indeed, it all comes together very well, because the realization of this assumption, according to which you plan to reach different groups of recipients, began already at the stage of selecting people working on this project. I won't hide the fact that this session is a bit puzzling to me, and to lighten things up, I'll start with the question about the name. Casa Futura, the words appearing on the cover of the magazine, is that the name of your home and studio, the art project we're talking about here, or is it some kind of interpretive clue?
Krzysztof Grzeskow: Casa Futura, or "house of the future," is the name of the house and studio, which we referred to an Italian architecture magazine published under the title Casabella. It was my partner, who is Italian, who first started using the term - it had to do with the nature of the project, which was our shared dream, something we pursued on our own terms for a long time, without the influence of outside investors.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
Przemyslaw Ciępka: Building a house is not something you do overnight. When designing this space, did you have in your minds from the very beginning the scenographic aspect of it, which you gave expression to in the photo shoot realized for your magazine? Did you plan at all that such a session would be created, or was it an idea that was already born when you started living and working in Casa Futura?
Krzysztof Grześków: I think this whole project is a summation of our reflections on what architecture is - and for us it plays the roles of a background, or a framework for the lives and events that occur in them. In this light, I can say that we understand it as a stage set.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
Przemyslaw Ciępka: So let's move on to what's going on in this frame set by Casa Futura. Do these dozen or so photographs tell a coherent story, or are they rather separate worlds? What was behind the particular artistic choices - the choice of locations, the characters in the frames and their costumes?
Krzysztof Grześków: We were looking for something that would allow us to tell the story of the building, but also show its specifics and how life goes on in it. The guiding idea was to say that life writes different scenarios, regardless of how we imagine it beforehand, or in the case of architecture, draw it. The most striking character of the session is certainly the figure of a large, hairy monkey. I feel that the overtones of this element contrast sharply with the thoughtful, modular and symmetrical structure of our house. The monkey is an opposition to this very organized space, showing a certain wildness of the investment process. We meticulously drew the design of Casa Futura, of course, in compliance with the site conditions and building law. Nevertheless, when applying for a building permit, we learned that the previous owner of this property wanted to build an apartment building with ten apartments here. For a decade there was a battle between the developer and the residents, the case eventually went to the governor. Very high loans were at stake here, after all, this was a large investment that would require adequate infrastructure, if only to provide enough parking spaces or garbage garbage cans. We were greatly surprised when it turned out that there were already other proceedings pending for this plot of land, and at a higher authority, so we had to wait for the matter to be resolved. Even after it was resolved, we felt repercussions we had not anticipated - the previous owner of the plot effectively alienated the immediate neighborhood from the prospect of developing the area, which is not surprising at all. We consulted our project with the residents, and although we already had a brilliantly refined concept, after discussions with future neighbors it unexpectedly turned out that the house would have to be built as if it had been designed in a mirror image.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
The construction process itself also brought surprises, although it seemed that the use of prefabricated elements that came to us from Poznań, Katowice or Złotoryja would allow us to assemble the house as if it were being built from well-fitted bricks. Here the human factor again played its role, but also the geopolitical situation, because Denis, responsible for assembling the prefabricated elements, left to defend his country in the war that broke out in Ukraine. It is difficult to hold a grudge against him for this, but it was another event that showed us how important a role coincidence plays in the construction process, regardless of the amount of preparation and pre-developed options for the development of the situation. Hence the rampant monkey, whose movements are impossible to predict.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
Over the last 12 years we have done 200 projects in our studio - the wildness of the investment process, which I am talking about here, was an important factor in really many of our projects. This unpredictability is the third factor, next to the architect and the investor, that we don't usually think about, and which is also difficult to prepare for.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
Przemyslaw Ciępka: And the figures in masks and broken watermelons ?
Krzysztof Grześków: We didn't want to show specific people or characters here. We preferred a more universal message that would reach a wider audience and allow different people to identify with these situations - whether it be a mother, father, grandmother, partner, construction worker or architecture enthusiast. Watermelon, on the other hand, was an element that worked on a visual level. It adds drama, and broken into lots of pieces it looks great against the logical structure of Casa Futura.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
Przemyslaw Ciępka: There were also figures in kimonos.
Krzysztof Grześków: Actually, one model was wearing a kimono, which played the role of visual and meaningful opposition to the monkey figure, depicting the chaotic nature of the construction process. For us, the kimono reflected the Japanese design philosophy - precision, modularity, and a specific understanding of space. On many levels, our project was fraught with challenges similar to those faced by architects working in Japanese cities. Our plot is only 240 square meters in size, with dense buildings all around, which implies low light availability and a lack of privacy. In Japan, space is understood very differently than it is in the West; it is more fluid in nature. Buildings are more like frames delineated by axes, beams, ceilings, floors and walls. Interior and exterior intermingle - this is the effect, despite a very difficult plot of land, that we managed to achieve when designing Casa Futura. One of my friends, who visited us on one rainy day, told me that communing with the building he felt as if he were on one of Tokyo's streets. This was honey to my ears, as I had not touched on this subject at all before.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
Przemyslaw Ciępka: Even the modular facade solution brings to mind Japanese tatami mats. You've used a lot of modular, prefabricated solutions - do you think this approach to building single-family homes can be used on a wider scale?
Krzysztof Grześków: By all means. I somewhat don't understand why many people associate "modularity" with buildings built from shipping containers adapted to serve as single-family homes at any cost. Prefabricated solutions are used extensively in multifamily housing, so why not transfer it to single-family homes. I think the problem with modularity in this type of construction is more due to the perception of prefabs and modules through the prism of architecture built before 89. The belief that there is a certain "standardization" of buildings built using modular technology is probably also an important factor. When paying for the design and construction of a single-family house, we expect a personalized, tailor-made building to be created. And in fact, modules do not stand in the way of such a design at all - after all, each module can be rearranged, rotated and put together at will, creating structures that are answers to very specific needs.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
Przemyslaw Ciępka: So how did you manage to break the repetitiveness in this house, which could result from its modular structure ?
Krzysztof Grześków: Modular means not only "repetitive," but also "stackable." Our studio is made up of square modules. I sit in one square, and you sit in the other square. The tables are square, too - we can combine them into one long bench and have a Christmas Eve party at them, and then separate them into 8 small desks where we work on more projects. It's like language - modules are just words, and only our creativity allows us to arrange concrete statements from them.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
Przemyslaw Ciępka: And what advantages can the use of modular and prefabricated technology have in the construction of single-family houses?
Krzysztof Grześków: First of all, it's all about cost. The use of prefabricated products significantly reduces the price of such construction. In the case of halls and large-format stores, which we have also designed in the past, the price per square meter is several thousand zlotys. Individual constructions, which are built using traditional technology, require the employment of a bricklayer, plasterer, electrician or sanitary installer and generate much higher costs, starting at 10 thousand zlotys per square meter. Using prefabricated elements, we were able to reduce these costs significantly, if not for this, we would not have been able to afford Casa Futura to be built in its current form. By the way, it was the same with the plot of land on which our house was built, because it was also a saving and an area with very difficult spatial characteristics and an aggravating history - previously there was an old car repair shop here, and later there were stories related to plans to build a multi-family building, which I have already told you about. The construction of this house was quite a challenge, and it's something we like best.
Casa Futura, or how to show architecture differently
Photo: Ada Gruszka, Maciej Lulko, graphics: Marcin Rosiński, art director: Krzysztof Grześków © Rewizja Grupa Projektowa,
Przemyslaw Ciępka: When do you plan to publish the next magazines and what do you plan to show in them?
Krzysztof Grześków: We are at the stage of discussing with our photographer how we can present our next project - it will be a glass cube, with the help of which we enlarged one of the apartments in Wroclaw. We plan to publish the magazine in the spring. Next, we want to show a house that was built in a gap between two Boleslawiec tenements. This is also a very unusual project, which was a challenge for us.
Przemyslaw Ciępka: I'm looking forward to it! Thank you for the interview!
