Building in the mountains is a difficult art and a responsible task. Architects and architects must resist the temptation to design buildings that dominate the landscape, while at the same time ensuring that they blend in with the natural landscape and subtly mark their presence. Robert Skitek of the Tychy-based studio RS+ Robert Skitek has proposed his concept for how the silhouette of a single-family house can be incorporated into the landscape of the Żywiec Beskid.
house divided into three
The building was placed in the center of a steep plot of land in the heart of the Zywiec Beskid, on a hillside between a forest and a mountain valley. The Beskid House is an unusual building, which the architects decided to split into three blocks, located one next to the other. The tallest, middle segment is flanked by two, slightly lower volumes. One of them, located on the western side, has two stories. Such treatment of space was dictated by the unevenness of the terrain on which the building sits. However, the obstacle was overcome, the consequences of the adopted solution used in a functional way.
House in the Beskids
Photo: Tomasz Zakrzewski © RS+
window play
The sloping roofs of the segments that make up the building obviously refer to the steepness of mountain peaks. However, the architect here did not refer to the already heavily exploited archetype of a mountain hut with a steep, gabled roof. Instead, each part of the house is covered with a single-pitched roof, sloping alternately to the east or west. The integration with the surrounding landscape is also influenced by the composition of the house's glazing. Large windows were set into the longer elevations on the south and north sides. There were three windows on each, corresponding to the building's tripartite structure. In the central block, where the single-space living area is located, two large windows were used, placed in parallel on both sides of the house, allowing a "look through".
House in the Beskids
Photo: Tomasz Zakrzewski © RS+
On the south side, in front of the middle segment of the house, there is a terrace, which is covered by the eaves of the roof, protruding at this point beyond the outline of the building walls. It is not without reason that such a location was chosen - the terrace, including the windows, faces the direction of the dense forest, which begins in the higher part of the slope, just beyond the borders of the plot. Thanks to this, the residents of the house can count on plenty of light and spectacular views, while maintaining a sense of privacy. It is also taken care of by roller blinds that allow to obscure large-scale glazing.
A house in the Beskidy mountains
Photo: Tomasz Zakrzewski © RS+
as on the outside, so on the inside
The external shape of the body of the house reflects the functional division of the house, in which three main zones are distinguished. The central segment houses the living area, consisting of an open kitchen with a separate storeroom, which is connected to a spacious living room. As the central block is the tallest part of the house, the designers decided to place a mezzanine above the kitchen in the form of a mezzanine opening to the living room space.
House in the Beskids
Photo: Tomasz Zakrzewski © RS+
The two blocks flanking the central part of the house on the east and west sides, on the other hand, have been allocated for private zones - sleeping rooms, bathrooms and other utility rooms are located here. On the west side, where the house has two above-ground floors, the first floor includes an entrance space connected to the garage. Segments of the house are separated from each other by two corridors extending between the southern and northern elevations.
House in the Beskids
Photo: Tomasz Zakrzewski © RS+
House in Beskidy - natural, but also modern
The interiors are decorated minimalistically, using natural materials. White walls and a large number of wooden elements dominate here - built-in kitchen cabinets, stairs and railings, or beams supporting the ceiling and mezzanine, visible in the middle segment of the house.
House in the Beskids
Photo: Tomasz Zakrzewski © RS+
The house was finished with materials in dark colors. The elevations on the north and south sides are lined with wood, while those looking east and west are finished with graphite sheet metal. The same material was used to cover the roof slopes.
A house in the Beskids
Photo: Tomasz Zakrzewski © RS+
The landscape architecture was handled by Tomasz Kurtek of Kurtek Landscape Design Studio. The designer decided not to interfere too much with the character of the existing space. Ferns, grasses and stone elements were used to integrate with the surrounding landscape.
