This small 170 sqm house is inspired by a wooden cottage I accidentally encountered during a bicycle trip, which somehow particularly charmed me and sank into my memory, just like the characterful arcaded houses of Lanckorona. The arcaded house breaks all conventions, rules and principles. It is rude, asymmetrical, but very logical and consistent, which is why I like it so much. Its form is the result of function, ergonomic principles and light in architecture. - Boguslaw Barnaś, BXB studio.
Undercroft House
© BXB studio
The Undercroft House is another interpretation of regional architecture into modern design after the Malopolska Undercroft Cottage. The Malopolska Undercroft Cottage, inspired by the architecture of Lanckorona, is a building with an area of almost 400 m2, while BXB studio's latest proposal is just 170 m2 of extremely functional architecture, which directly refers to a wooden house accidentally encountered on a mountain trail.
Undercroft House
© BXB studio
This house was designed to meet the expectations of a single as well as a family of 4 or 5, so we designed the layout of the attic to easily adapt to the changing needs of the user. In the basic version, the first floor houses a small library on a mezzanine, an intimate terrace and a night zone - a spacious bedroom, a bath room and a dressing room. In the family version, the attic gains one or even two additional rooms.
Undercroft House
© BXB studio
The first floor of the house is an extremely spacious, bright, transparent and well-lit living space with a kitchen island, open to two terraces - a dining area with an outdoor kitchen and a more covered one - the living room. The living space is open all the way up to the ridge, but its volume has been reduced through a characteristic roof truncation, which at the same time generates additional overhead glazing that illuminates the interior of the house with natural light. The first floor also houses a guest room or study with a possible independent entrance, a second bathroom, a technical area, a pantry located next to the kitchen and a single-car garage equipped with a panoramic window placed at the height of the driver's head.
Undercroft House
© BXB studio
An interesting stylistic detail of the Undercroft House is the mobile shutters, which harmonize with the undercut entrance gate to the property allowing it to be opened inwards despite the steep driveway. We also treated the roof in an unusual way, which generates variable widths of the arcade, for example, the entrance or main terrace area is more covered. Thus, we obtained an unusually asymmetrical roof form with an innovative dormer (anti-lucarne), which here is a volume subtracted and not added as is common in traditional buildings. In the design process, we tested various material options - white sheet metal, natural
patinated wood, shingles or gray sheet metal, but in the end we decided on burnt board, white soffit and concrete terrace. A fence, retaining walls of the driveway zone, greenery and a garbage shed were also designed for this house, which are stylistically related to the feisty character of the building.
Undercroft House
© BXB studio
The arcaded terraces, in turn, relate to the topography of the plot by creating an arcaded staircase, which creates an entrance to the guest room or study area.
Arcaded Cottage
© BXB studio
The Arcaded Cottage is a building in which every detail, even the smallest, has been thought through and reworked. On the one hand, we created a traditional, cozy little house, on the other hand, we created a futuristic space that is both ecological and functional. In this house, nothing is accidental, although our goal was to achieve the impression of randomness and frivolity found in our inspiration - an old wooden mountain cabin. As a result, the house we designed creates a sense of homely warmth, the kind found in traditional wooden regional architecture.
The arcaded cottage
© BXB studio
