Brick is a material that has been a symbol of architecture for thousands of years. Today, when concrete has become commonplace, buildings made of brick - both as a construction material and as a finishing material - acquire a unique charm. The realizations created in places where red brick is part of the architectural identity of the region acquire an additional dimension. This is what was referred to during the design of the Industrial House, for which {tag:pracownie} is responsible.
Although the whole of Poland is undoubtedly one of the countries where brick, used not only as a building material but also as an architectural means of expression, played an important role, this is particularly felt in Silesia. To this day, its industrial character is expressed in the architecture of factory and mining complexes, as well as the famous brick workers' settlements - for example, Katowice's Nikiszowiec or Kolonia Zgorzelec in Bytom.
Industrial House in Mikolow
photo: Adam Miozga © archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz
brick identity
It is not uncommon for contemporary architects to also refer to this characteristic when working on projects in Silesia - the facade of the NOSPR, the headquarters of the Radio and Television Department of the University of Silesia and the building under construction for the Academy of Music in Katowice are all brick. Rust-colored cuboids also appear in much smaller volume projects, one of which is the Industrial House, designed in Mikołów by archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz.
Industrial House in Mikołów
photo: Adam Miozga © archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz
Industrial House in Mikolow
The house was supposed to be a contemporary barn with industrial touches. Another contemporary barn? This solution could correspond with the originally rural landscape of Silesia. We proposed an architecture referring directly to the industrial, more characteristic, contemporary legacy of the region
- write the architects about their realization.
Industrial House in Mikolow
Photo: Adam Miozga © archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz
The industrial house is a one-story block with a rectangular base, which accommodated the living area, garage and a spacious terrace. Living spaces, located mainly in the central and eastern parts of the building, offset from the southern line of foundations and preceded by an arcade, partially hidden behind an openwork wall. The sculpted body of the building, in which the interior blends with the exterior, and which uses a slightly different means of spatial expression on each side, is clad in red clinker, evoking industrial associations.
Industrial House in Mikolow
photo: Adam Miozga © archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz
The industrial character of the building designed by Tomasz Studniarek and Malgorzata Pilinkiewicz is expressed not only through the use of clinker masonry, but also in the shape that the elevations of the longer sides of the house have taken. Thanks to the use of pilaster roofs, with gable wall surfaces in the shape of a right triangle, the body of the building refers to the forms that production halls in Silesia of the late 19th and early 20th centuries took.
Industrial House in Mikolow
photo: Adam Miozga © archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz
levitating monolith
On the eastern side, the terrain slopes gently, but this did not prevent the architects from maintaining the iron logic of the Industrial House's body. Despite the slope of the terrain, the base of the house maintains the same level, so that the solid becomes gently overhanging. The overhang is so deep that when viewing the building from this side, one gets the impression that it floats above ground level. The effect is enhanced by depriving the facade of any glazing at this point and using a decorative brick thread on part of the surface of the west wall.
Industrial House in Mikolow
photo: Adam Miozga © archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz
brick masterpiece
The Industrial House is a brick masterpiece. The method of finishing the facade was entirely based on red clinker bricks. Most of the walls have been developed in the traditional cart weft. At the height extending from the base of the building to the top of the glazing, the elevations were covered with a decorative pattern, which is a variation on the Dutch weft, in which the heads were withdrawn in relation to the cartwheels.
Industrial House in Mikolow
Photo: Adam Miozga © archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz
Some of the walls act as screens, behind which the actual body of the house with large glazing is hidden - in these places the architects decided to deprive the Dutch thread of the bricks facing the face of the wall, resulting in openwork walls with a highly decorative expression. Thanks to this solution, diffused, soft light enters the interiors during the day, while in the evenings the facade of the house shines with a geometric pattern.
Industrial House in Mikołów
photo: Adam Miozga © archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz
red and black
Clinker is not the only material used to finish the house. With the red of the brick in tandem come black finishing elements in the form of facade panels covering the garage door and elegant black window woodwork.
Industrial House in Mikołów
Photo: Adam Miozga © archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz
Similar materials were used for the interior finishes. The central space of the house is a spacious living room with a high, sloping ceiling, connected to the kitchen and dining room. Here, too, brick plays first fiddle. Light enters from several sides - mainly through large glazing on the north side and a ceiling skylight. Bedrooms and ancillary rooms are located on the east side of the house.
Industrial House in Mikolow
Photo: Adam Miozga © archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz
Above the entrance area, leading directly to the living room, a small mezzanine was placed, which can be accessed by a spiral staircase. On its top a reading corner with a comfortable armchair, a lamp and a bookcase was located.
Industrial House in Mikolow
photo: Adam Miozga © archistudio studniarek + pilinkiewicz
summer living room in weather and inclement weather
An important part of the house is the summer living room, in the form of an outdoor terrace located on the southwest side of the building. The space was inscribed in the body of the building and optically connected with the kitchen, which was deprived of walls and surrounded by large glazing. The sloping roof covering the terrace space has been pierced with a large skylight, which provides access to light while protecting it from rain.
