Concept
It started with the search for a construction material that would be suitable for the specific conditions in which the house we were designing was to stand. Due to the instability of the ground, the high level of groundwater and the great buoyancy of the water acting on the virtually submerged building, its shell had to be heavy and tight. It also had to be very rigid and solid, because the desire to open up the interior to the picturesque surroundings of the seaside plot led us to cut large windows in it.
The choice was simple: concrete. Reaching for it, we decided to use the possibilities it gives to the maximum extent. We were guided by the idea of complete honesty of the material, concrete had to be real both in the way it was used and in the visual layer, so that these two aspects were not separated from each other but created a consistent whole.
Interior
The building was designed in a monolithic reinforced concrete structure and poured as a homogeneous shell, which ensures its safety, geometric stability and airtightness, while also creating a finished interior finish. The concrete used in this way became the leitmotif of the entire concept, also determining the aesthetic solutions in the interiors. Its raw grey colour and texture are balanced out by the white of some partition walls and visually warmed up by the light wood of the floors.
Facade
The second important material we used in this building is wood. The façade cladding is made up of boards screwed vertically (similar to formwork for monolithic construction). In this way we achieved a specific reversal of roles, the "warm" wood appears on the outside of the building, while inside there is concrete with a negative reflection of the wooden formwork.
A third, complementary material is sheet metal. All exterior flashings and window joinery are in graphite.
Location
The building was erected in a coastal village, on a plot of land with a varied topography just behind the dunes, covered with pine trees. It replaced an old house that was too small and had an uninteresting architecture, becoming a new, comfortable meeting place for the investors' family and friends.
A cubic block with almost identical elevations (each based on the same pattern) was inserted in place of the old building mentioned above in such a way as not to cut down any of the existing trees. The characteristic element of the house is the entrance area, which gives access to the inside from two corners in the eastern, street-adjacent part of the plot. On the south-west and north-west side, the house is surrounded by a wooden terrace with a built-in barbecue.
Photos: Jeremi Buczkowski