Art, of which architecture is a part, knows no boundaries, except for the imagination. Nature is the most perfect of teachers and was the first to inspire artists. Her magnificence still does not cease to amaze, as exemplified by the houses with gills designed by Bartłomiej Drabik. "Breathing" houses in Zielonki, near Krakow, are designed to provide their residents with as much privacy as possible.
The main idea of Bartlomiej Drabik of the Superhelix Pracownia Projektowa - Bartłomiej Drabik studio was to create a small residential estate. It consists of three buildings, each of which has two apartments and two garages. The gnarled houses are surrounded by terraced housing, which the architect could not continue, due to a provision in the local zoning plan. According to Bartlomiej Drabik himself:
Given the context of the site, this provision seemed extremely inconsistent. Most likely, it is just a result of the trend that is being adopted in the writing of new plans. Terraced housing is not associated well in Poland and creates many urban planning problems.
Because of the mentioned provision, the architect had to approach the task using all the resources of creativity. He was forced to locate the buildings in the middle part of the plot - they could not stand one next to the other. This solution, however, gave rise to a new problem. Architecture, unfortunately, knows many cases when neighbors look into each other's windows and can even shake hands through them. Bartlomiej Drabik wanted to avoid this, so he "twisted" the windows, which prevented neighbors from sharing in the lives of the residents of the new development. "Angled" glazing, although located on the western and eastern elevations, lets in more light as it faces south.
Houses with gills
Houses with gills
Photo Bartłomiej Drabik
The gills of the title are, so to speak, a "by-product" that came out by breaking the walls of the buildings in a horizontal plane, passing to the surface of the roof. This is how the characteristic dormers were created, illuminating the rooms in the attic. The whole gives the impression that the blocks have gills.
The houses are significantly distinguished from the surrounding "terraced houses" not only by their modern design, but also by their finish. The walls are covered with traditional plaster, and the roof with sheet metal of the same color. Thanks to this procedure it was possible to avoid formal and aesthetic exaggeration, excessive shapes and folds. The effect was not disturbed by the inside of the window frames, which contrasted with the covering. This treatment only made the gills more visible, which made them more legible.
There are two separate apartments in each building. The one on the first floor has an area of 63 square meters and houses four rooms. The one located on the first floor has two levels, 95 square meters of floor space and six rooms. The architect minimized the space allocated for internal communication, which allowed for a large number of rooms in relation to the square meterage.
