Amonolith levitating in space and seeming to defy the laws of physics is House 40 and 4 by architects from {tag:pracownie}. The unusual block made entirely of reinforced concrete technology is being built in the Silesian Beskids, and its form was inspired by literature, among other things.
House 40 and 4 is an atypical single-family residential building, which is being built in the picturesque Silesian Beskid. Designed in reinforced concrete technology, the block with a gabled roof, despite its unobvious form, refers to the surrounding landscape and solutions of traditional local buildings. The building, with a northwestern exposure, was made on the plan of an elongated rectangle. This contributed to the horizontal layout of the house, reduced the heights and widths of the building's tract and seamlessly integrated it into the surroundings. The architects relied on foundations in the form of reinforced concrete footings and layered exterior walls.
building with a horizontal layout
© Autograf studio
The unusual shape of the house is the result of numerous inspirations drawn from culture - the authors refer to Adam Mickiewicz and the symbol forty and four, Stanley Kubrick's Space Odyssey, and even mention the creation of the world.
An important figure is also the architect Juliusz Żórawski and his approach to design work treated like a puzzle, consisting in putting together a sentence from jumbled words.
In this case, the concepts were the amount of data recorded in the space of the plot: a flowing stream, lush greenery, mountain landscape, local architecture, the mood of a meadow, morning mists, beech forest, tradition.... These then turned into our 44 words of architecture," the authors explain.
The house with a northwestern exposure was made on an elongated rectangular plan
© Autograf studio
Dobrawa Bies: The body of the house is not typical. Was it easy to convince the investor for such a bold project?
Autograf studio: The investors are an exceptionally broad-minded couple with a bold, open mind. They came to us right away with the attitude that they wanted something special. A dream house, different from anything else. The form was unknown and it was our job to find it in their imagination. They told us about their needs, their desires. They showed a phenomenal plot of land in the mountains, with a stream flowing at the foot. After our vision on the plot, we knew immediately what form their house and their dreams would take. The first meeting at our office, the presentation of the concept and the form of the building - it turned out that we hit the spot centrally! The project was accepted immediately at the meeting and is implemented perfectly according to the first sketch. Without the slightest change!
On the first floor there is a glass pavilion
© Autograf studio
Dobrawa: Please tell us about the design assumptions and inspirations.
Autograf studio: The architectural idea is an open set of poetic and mathematical elements, ephemeral and structural aspects, artistic and constructional issues. The canvas and inspiration for creating a new design can be anything. Incentives can come from everyday life, nature, music, poetry or sculpture. Sometimes they appear unexpectedly, and sometimes they are a carefully worked-out puzzle of motifs. When Adam Mickiewicz wrote the third part of Dziady, he was in a creative frenzy. At that time he created one of the greatest symbols in Polish literature - and his name will be forty and four. The theme taken from Romantic art is able to combine in a remarkable way with the symbolism of numbers and the essence of the building. Four is a myriad of symbols: the sides of the world, the seasons, the four dimensions of architecture's existence. Forty is half of human life, and forty and four we have translated into the physical properties of a house, defining with them its basic parameters, 40 meters in length and 4 meters in width. On the other hand, the body of the house appears in the landscape like Stanley Kubrik's mystical monlite. The form of the building is reminiscent of a huge telescope aimed at the sky, at the future, straight at the stars. It allows observation of the vault from a levitating concrete block. At the same time, the glass, ground-floor pavilion of the living room, allows observation of the mundane.
The house, despite its unobvious form, refers to the architecture of the region with, among other things, a gabled roof
© Autograf studio
Dobrawa: What materials were used and how did their selection influence the design?
Autograf studio: Because of the unusual form and the demanding design, our first and natural choice was concrete. It was also enthusiastically accepted by the investors. Consistently in the further design stages we decided, wherever possible, to expose it as much as possible. Concrete seamlessly permeates from the outside, forming in the interior walls, stairs, floors, ceilings, details.... Its gray in the interior is dominant and extravagant.
The main structural element of the building is concrete
© Autograf studio
Dobrawa: The house seems to defy the laws of physics. Are these types of projects extremely demanding structurally?
Autograf studio: Yes. The officials at the stage of the building permit procedure required us to have an additional check constructor, because the project evoked in them unknown but strong emotions :)
Dobrawa: When can we expect the project to be finalized?
Autograf studio: The lump is already starting to levitate boldly, and we hope that the realities of construction will not pull it down to the ground and the finalization will take place at the end of summer 2021.
Dobrawa: Thank you for the interview!
