A long and narrow plot of land directly influenced the shape of the house in Tychy. The architects decided to combine two blocks, and by moving them in relation to each other, they gave lightness to the designed form.
The main goal of the project was to place all the functions of the house on one floor, while separating the bedroom area from the living area. The concept is to connect the two blocks together and then move them in relation to each other. In this way the house gives the impression of being light, and the differentiated roof - flat over the bedrooms and gabled over the living room - gives the object an interesting form. The displacement of the blocks also resulted in the creation of a cozy terrace on the south side, accessible from the two-story living room.
The house is characterized by a differentiated roof - flat over the bedrooms and gabled over the living room
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Dobrawa Bies: What was the main inspiration for the project, what is the shape of the body of the house derived from?
Anna Jablonska: The surroundings of the designed house do not have a homogeneous character of development, so it was very difficult to determine the dominant features and styles to which we should refer. The closest surroundings of the plot are very diverse buildings. On the other hand, the development conditions that the investors received were already quite strongly defined and imposed certain rigid frameworks within which it was necessary to move (the geometry of the roof or the height of the ridge and attic). The shape of the plot was also an additional complication - long and narrow, only 20 meters wide. In view of this, it was clear that the front elevation would not be wider than 12 meters. It was also obvious that on the side of the access road the number of windows would be as limited as possible in order to provide privacy for the residents and reduce the heat loss of the building, since the road is located on the north side. These three factors turned out to be so important and significant that they significantly influenced the shape of the block and the functional division of the entire building.
The project is a combination of two solids offset from each other
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Dobrawa Bies: What was a priority for you in this project?
Anna Jablonskaya: The priority was, of course, customer satisfaction and meeting as many of their guidelines as possible. As always, it is important to listen to the investor's expectations, because he is the one who knows best what he needs and, ultimately, it is he who will spend most of his time in this space. It is necessary to analyze all his concerns at every stage of the design and guide him in such a way that ultimately a good building is created. In my opinion, a good building is one that is characterized by simplicity and moderation, and at the same time its occupants feel comfortable in it.
All functions are placed on one floor
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Dobrawa Bies: What were the expectations of the investors?
Anna Jablonska: The overriding need of the future occupants of the house was to place all functions on one level, i.e. on the first floor. The attic is only an added value - an area that they do not necessarily need to use on a daily basis. Hence, the first floor includes only a utility room and a mezzanine, which can be used as an additional play space for children or a place to be alone. Especially since it has a direct exit to the roof, where, as expected by the investors, it was possible to design a reserve space for relaxation.
Dobrawa Bies: What caused the greatest design difficulties, and what are you most satisfied with?
Anna Jablonska: There were several difficulties, but probably the biggest ones turned out to be installations, as the project was to include ventilation in the form of recuperation and additionally air conditioning. The investor wanted the rooms located in the sloping roof zone not to have suspended ceilings - this applied both to the living room with dining room and the centrally located bathroom. In view of this, in such an open and at the same time confined space, which de facto has no ceilings, the arrangement of all ducts from ventilation and air conditioning proved to be quite a challenge. Fortunately, together with the designer and installers, we managed to work out an optimal solution. The most gratifying thing is the fact of fitting all the functions that the investor needed on one level, and in addition, the house does not resemble a long "wagon". With such a small plot of land, the shape of which is severely limited, there was a high risk that the house would appear heavy and clumsy. Fortunately, the differentiation of the roofs and the procedure of shifting the two blocks in relation to each other ensured that this was not the case.
