Beata Momot of the Warsaw University of Technology decided to address the topic of contemporary ways of living, creating a house project in Warsaw's Old Mokotow district as an example. The building, which deviates from developer market standards, allows for the creation of an individual place to live and work in the city.
Beata Momot's engineering thesis entitled. "Residential Home in Warsaw. Rozważania o domowość w współczesnym zamieszki" carried out under the supervision of Maciej Miłobędzki is an attempt to present a different way of habitation than that conditioned by market criteria. As an example, the student used low four-story historic tenement houses and urban villas on Kielecka Street located in the Old Mokotow area. The interesting urban layout of the district consists of building quarters of similar size, the interiors of which are overgrown with lush greenery. The peculiarity of the street is created by front gardens appearing in front of houses along the entire length of the street.
The peculiarity of Kielecka Street is created by front gardens
© Beata Momot
As the author says:
Residential architecture in Poland is strongly marked by developer standards, primarily oriented towards short-term economic effects and immediate marketing success. Nowadays, however, one can observe many transformations both socially and technologically regarding the topic of habitation. The concept has been undergoing transformations in recent times due to changes in living patterns, family, aging population, globalization, etc. These modern trends are often combined with the search for new forms and typologies of habitation, which, in view of rapidly changing conditions, should provide a significant level of universality.
Dwellings can be freely arranged and adapted to users
© Beata Momot
contemporary home, or what kind of home?
Assuming thata contemporary home responds to the needs of its occupants, giving them the opportunity to create an individual place to live and work, Beata Momot designed spaces that do not impose a way of use. A front garden leads to the building bathed in greenery. A high lobby creates a sequence of spaces, consisting of an entrance hall, an open staircase and a conservatory. The rear garden is also visible, with which an intimate common space for residents - a terrace and a winter garden - is connected. The central and fixed part of all apartments is formed by the hall, located on an axis, around which the rooms are arranged in an amphitheatre manner. In the middle of the premise there is a sanitary and wardrobe area. The simple structure of the apartments can be easily individualized without obvious construction interference, creating a sense of "being at home".
The central and fixed part of all apartments is formed by a hall located on the axis
© Beata Momot
reference to historical buildings
The façade of the designed building on the side of Kielecka Street continues the line of the historic building and refers to its character through the height, arrangement of windows and use of window sills. The elevation reflects the layout of the rooms in the interior, creating a composition of openings that balances in juxtaposition with the planes of the wall. The levels of the lower edge of the window openings correspond to the adjacent buildings, forming one continuous line. The openings are complemented by pine wood window frames, accented by corner louvers. The building's entrance refers to the entrances of the 1930s townhouses. It is formed by a tall, solid wooden door with a reinforced concrete canopy with a fanlight above it. The façade is crowned with ventilated ceiling openings, along with a slightly projecting cornice.
Facade from the garden with ivy structure
© Beata Momot
greenery and sunlight
The garden elevation creates a soft building line, following the shape of the sculpted surrounding buildings. Corner tall windows facing the garden are located in the open angles between the walls. The façade is enriched by two protruding risalits, which allow for the extension of the living area and provide a glimpse into the perspective of the long courtyard. The risalits feature loggias with south-facing openings, giving access to all-day sunlight. The two rays of the wall between the risalits have a substructure for climbing ivy.
The sculpted façade is reminiscent of historic buildings
© Beata Momot
Due to the historical specificity of the site and contemporary conditions, Beata Momot tried to inscribe the building into the coherent character of Kielecka Street. The material solutions of the facade relate to the character of the neighboring houses. The finish is a thick-layered, noble scratch plaster in the shade of broken white. Texturally contrasting elements are the exterior sills and the building's pedestal, made of polished, smooth precast concrete. The overall perception of the building is warmed by wooden window frames and lamellas in the loggias.
Beata Momot's work received a first-place honorable mention in the 2019 OW SARP Diploma of the Year competition. You can read about all the awarded projects in this article.
