In this case, there is no question of a simple plan, it is probably closest to a finely chalked L letter, which is not quite evident in the body of the building itself. Nevertheless, the floor plan is clear - divided into a more technical, guest and office area, a living and residential area and, at the very end, a spacious rehearsal room. The whole building is blended into the sculpted terrain of the plot located in the vicinity of Poznań, and the disjointed mass looks different from each side.
image: GID Studio © GAB
This effect was achieved by the architects of the GAB studio by adjusting the architecture to the unevenness of the terrain - the "action" takes place here on many levels, at different angles and in various forms - there are two simple, two-story blocks covered by a hipped roof with a truncated gable, there is a one-story pavilionwhere children's rooms have been placed under a green roof, and finally the last of the blocks - a rehearsal room, which on the one hand may bring to mind a forest bunker, and on the other a vegetated section of a stepped pyramid or an amphitheater auditorium overlooking the inner courtyard of the house.
cross section
© GAB
Piotr Grabowski of the GAB studio talks about the design of the unusual house.
Ola Kloc: The house designed by you is far from typical - the fragmented body houses, among other things, a swimming pool and a spacious rehearsal hall, part of the house is almost hidden underground and covered with a green roof. What is the reason for such a solution? What was the priority for the investors?
Piotr Grabowski: It's true, the house is quite unusual. I think this is the result of creating, together with the Investors, a unique and not entirely typical program of the house, as well as our noticing a certain sequence of dependencies between different parts/functions of the house. The program of the house is quite rich and varied, and the requirements of the Investors were also not typical. Another piece of this puzzle is the location of the house. We wanted to diversify the perception of the building depending on the side from which we approach it. Due to the relief of the terrain, this division became possible. The house is perceived differently by a visitor who comes from the south side, differently by a householder who inhabits the house and differently by someone who only visits the rehearsal room. We feel that thanks to the visible division, we have succeeded in creating an object that will not be overwhelmed by its scale and can still be perceived as a house in its above-ground part.
first floor plan
© GAB
Ola: The compact masses of the house part are placed on a visually lighter lower floor. How do you structurally plan to achieve this effect?
Piotr: The houses are intended to be quite simple structurally, the small spans in the building allow for any arrangement of load-bearing elements. We always try to find the most logical and simple solutions in terms of construction. We take care of its rigor, because it often determines the logic of the building layout and its reception. In terms of materials at the construction stage, it was crucial for us to maintain the logic and consistency of the structure. We treated equally the solution of the house as a monolithic system, made entirely of stained reinforced concrete, as well as a hybrid structure, in which a minimum number of structural elements would be made of reinforced concrete, for example, a cavity wall, and the remaining parts of the house would be made of cross-laminated timber (CLT). It was crucial for us to create a space that operated with mass and its uniformity.
axonometry
© GAB
Ola: The rehearsal room is blended into the relief of the terrain, with one side covered by a stepped roof on which one can sit as if in an audience in an amphitheater. What influenced this shape of this part of the facility?
Piotr: As we said earlier, the Investor's intention was to find some spatial non-obviousness and to create a place that would offer many possibilities for its use. As if by definition, we wanted to separate the rehearsal room from the living area of the house. At the same time, we wanted to make its appearance stand out and the space inside it non-obvious. An additional, and I think key, element in the treatment of the rehearsal room space, as well as the living space, was to bring in a lot of light through skylights in the roof, so that the interior would be very bright, rather than overexposed to direct light.
Ola: What materials will be used on the facades?
Piotr: At the concept stage for both the interior and exterior, it was crucial for us to use homogeneous and consistent materials. Just as with the construction of the house, we assumed the possibility of making everything as a monolith, whether in colored concrete or in a hybrid system using prefabricated elements from CLT, so with the exterior we wanted to use materials that were homogeneous and of natural origin. In the final part of the so-called above-ground part, we decided to use ceramic shaped elements, which with their varied textures and colors would react to sunlight, humidity, etc. However, we also wanted to make the elements of the underground part and the retaining walls, enclosure and separating elements out of colored concrete or rammed earth.
cross section
© GAB
Ola: What was the most challenging part of this project, and what are you most satisfied with?
Piotr: The most challenging part was getting the house properly shaped on the plot. It was only after several site visits and attempts at programming that we were able to find a place and a way to shape the house to suit all our requirements. This opened the way for us to create a house diverse in terms of views, space and access to daylight. The investors wanted to be able to stay in the house together, but also separately, so we decided to make the body of the house quite disjointed. We feel that by doing so we were able to answer all the questions we asked ourselves at the beginning of the project.
Ola: Thank you for the interview.
