Located in the heart of the green Polish countryside next to a winding river, the By The Way house designed by KWK Promes is formed of a long concrete pathway that wraps up the house, views and landscape together.
The client requested a very simple plan that reflected his existing apartment where he was very comfortable and content. He was also keen to have a very private place to live, far away from the main road.
However, KWK Promes, the Katowice-based practice behind the Noah's Ark house in south Poland, designed for the firm’s owner Robert Konieczny, is known for casting concrete shapes into landscapes and wanted to challenge the brief further.
Bringing some adventure to the design, the architects, eager to expand the clients' horizons, became inspired by the shape of the winding road that slunk through the landscape from the road to the plot of the house, avoiding cutting down any trees along its way and following the gradually sloping topography of the natural site.
The north east view of By The Way house, revealing the glazed ground floor space and the upper first floor living quarters above.
Carrying this idea forward, the road just kept on unrolling, essentially wrapping up the whole house and evolving into the walls, ceilings and floors of the house. The light concrete, inspired by the material of the road, climbs up protecting the house from the western winds.
A ground floor level featuring a gym, guest house and garage unfolds and the road continues to open up a large first floor zone that comprises the main living quarters – all across one level like an apartment as the client originally desired.
This design concept meant that the first floor level was hoisted up into the tree tops, bringing the best view of the landscape to the living space. The interiors are minimal, so to let the view of the verdant landscape dominate, while timber paneling across some interior walls helped to make the concept of the continuous road clearer visually, so the architecture could be understood.
Aerial view of By The Way house.
The living room opens up into a balcony space that looks down towards the river, then continues into a pathway, inclining down with the topography of the land.
As seen from the sky, the concept of the house is clear. The light concrete of the road joins to the house and merges with the light membrane roof, then emerges out the other side winding its way to the beach.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the KWK Promes website
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