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Brenna, Poland | 2015

Architects: Robert Konieczny, KWK Promes
Client: Robert Konieczny, KWK Promes
Contractor: Firma Budowlana Wadyl
Photographers: Olo Studio and Jakub Certowicz

The idea for the house was to become a framework that crops a view.

The most appropriate building turned out to be a fully open to the mountain landscape; a one-story building, which gives the same view to all of the interiors.

Because the site is located in absolute wilderness, a problem with security needed to be addressed.

The solution turned out to be the "twisting" of the building so as only its one corner touches the ground and the rest is hang over the edge of the hill.

With this solution, part of the ground floor where the bedrooms were located was pulled up to the level of the first floor.

To limit the movement of the subsoil – because that is the main cause of a landslide, the architects decided to support the house on three independent walls and treat it as a bridge under which rain water flows naturally.

Realities of the mountain landscape as well as the local law constrained a gable roof.

To tense the construction of three supporting walls as well to create a necessary technical space, the idea arrived to make an “inverted roof,” slightly lifted over ground, thereby allowing natural water to flow.

Its undercut optimized the construction and gave the feeling of security by the impression of “floating” above the slope.

Finally, the form of the house started to resemble the Ark.

The building was supposed to be cheap and easy to construct. The architects then decided on insulating it from the inside and the concrete structure became a finished elevation.

Sprayed closed-cell-structure foam turned out to be the optimal insulation. It is also a vapor barrier.

Because of big glazing in the house, the architects wanted to design a shutter to avoid an overheating. Additionally, there was a need for an effective way of closing the entrance of the house.

The shutter was made of 10-meters movable wall and a drawbridge, which connects the functions of shutter and stairs.

Frame for the view Interior of the Ark is neutral, cause to most important thing is outside the Ark - nature.

Finishing materials are concrete, bleached ash wood and polished stainless steel.

As for the garden, the building site is a part of the entire mountain, and therefore the best garden design would be the lack of it, so on the best fence would be a temporary herding fence, the best path – a few rocks. The garden became pure, surrounding nature.