House for W

reconstruction of a terraced house
Project awarded with the first prize in BrickAward 2019 competition in the „feeling at home” category and nominated in the category of single-family houses, nominated for the international Archdaily „Building of the year 19” prize and nominated for President of Warsaw Architecture Prize in the category of housing.

The goal of the project was to reconstruct a terraced house from the 1970s. Its new dwellers came across typical problems for such a building – low quality materials, ground floor above the ground level and impractical arrangement of interior walls. The effect was a house closed from the outside world with small and dark interiors. Small part, added to its main form consisted of a garage, łiving room and a terrace. The whole plot was small and exposed from the every side – the house had no garden.

Our goal was to create a new functional interior and to completely reconstruct the addition within its limits. The main context was the location – a representative part of Warsaw planned as a “City-Garden” with lots of greenery and recreational spaces.

The idea in the newly-designed building was to create a frame that would serve as a support for plants. We wanted to enlarge the existing garden, of which both the walls and the terrace of the building were to be part and continuation. By doing so, we have generated some recreational space outside. We have also improved communication and have create an outside staircase, which does provide access to the living room from the outside. Brick walls shield him from the eyes of passers-by. Sun penetrates through openings and openwork fragments.

The interior has been adapted to the needs of a modern family of four – on the ground floor there is an open day zone of 70 square meters, the first floor houses three comfortable bedrooms, and the basement has complementary functions. Skylights placed in a flat roof, thanks to holes pierced in the ceilings, also illuminate the lower floors.