A plot twelve meters wide, with building lines on each side, a wall of forest at the back, and a railroad line in the neighborhood.... The architects at {tag:pracownie} like such challenges. Despite the sizable building constraints, they created a single-family home that even had room for a mini-office and an atrium with a breakfast terrace. We talk to Krzysztof Rojek about the work and design challenges.
The architects shaped the massing through withdrawals and overhangs
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Dobrawa Bies: The house you designed has a rather cubic form. It resembles two superimposed and offset cubes. What were the assumptions and design inspirations?
Krzysztof Rojek: The inspiration for the project came from houses frugal in their form located in the "warmer" part of Europe, their simplicity, functionality and changes occurring around the body and function with the time of day. Danish architecture, its openness and glazing that opens the house to the surroundings and neighbors, also had a big influence on the final shape.
Despite the narrow plot, it was even possible to design a studio and atrium
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Dobrawa: What requirements did the investor set for you?
Krzysztof Rojek: The requirements and expectations of the project were very high, because the investor and the architect in this case is one person. I make no secret of the fact that this is the third project. The previous two were attempts to solve the functions and problems of the householders from the place of their current residence. The final version was influenced by the change in the location of the plot and combines many elements from the previous concepts. The most important consideration was a plot with a view located in the fabric of the city. After a long search, we managed to find by chance a property with a piece of forest and at the same time great restrictions on development.
The facade is covered with plaster in two contrasting colors and wood
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Dobrawa: What materials were used and how did their choice influence the form of the building?
Krzysztof Rojek: The building was intended to be a simple and compact block, whose rhythm is given by the lines and divisions of the facade. In the design we used two materials plaster, in two very contrasting colors, and wood. The initial version was a white model, in which by trial and error we shaped the various elements through withdrawals and overhangs correlating with the sides of the world and the minimum distances from the plot boundaries.
An atrium with a breakfast terrace connects the mini-office to the house
© PRZEarchitekci
Dobrawa: What caused you the greatest design difficulty, and what are you most satisfied with?
Krzysztof Rojek: The biggest difficulty and challenge was the plot of land, its location and the restrictions of the local plan, as well as its proximity to the railroad line. The initial body of the building was created as a result of the drawn-in building lines, the forest line and the plot width of a little over twelve meters. After determining the maximum extent of the building, we moved on to drawing out the functional layout, which had to combine three elements - a living area with an opening to the forest, a sleeping area that gave acoustic comfort (the railroad line) and a part that was a studio, which could not interfere with the "daily life" of the householders. The only element that connects work and home is a mini atrium with a breakfast terrace from which you can get from the studio directly to the kitchen. We have some luck with complicated plots of land, investors have repeatedly approached us with properties that were shaped like triangles, trapezoids and other unshaped solids. Such projects make great demands and at the same time leave us with a lot of experience.
Dobrawa: Thank you for the interview.
