DESIGN OF THE FACADE AND INTERIOR ARRANGEMENT
The Investor’s goal was to change the functional layout of the interior of the house, arrange the ground floor, and simplify and refresh the facade. The building from the late 80s and 90s did not have high aesthetic values, and the shortcomings resulting from the original functional layout were exacerbated by the significant elevation of the ground floor above the surrounding terrain. As a result, the house does not have one properly accentuated entrance, but instead has two equally important entrances, one of which is used sporadically by guests, while the other is used by the owners but is not visible from the street and not properly emphasized. It is also not very convenient due to the differences in levels and the need to climb stairs up and down to get to the ground floor. The change in the functional layout of the house involves creating a new entrance visible from the street, equipped with an area for a vestibule with a closet and seating, and reducing the number of stairs required to reach the ground floor. These changes will lead to the creation of a useful basement area with a direct exit to the garden from the west side, directly at ground level. The ground floor will be devoid of some partition walls, and its plan will consist of a small auxiliary room serving as a storage room, library or guest room, a bathroom located in the place of the previous, unused vestibule, an open kitchen, a buffer space, and a living room connected to the dining room. The daytime space will have new windows, all the way to the floor from the terrace side, i.e., from the south. On the east side, a new, spacious window opening will serve as a decorative bench or seat with a 45cm high windowsill. The space between the kitchen and the living room with the dining room will be the new heart of the house, with a green island as the central point of both the ground floor and the entire house. The open kitchen has been equipped with the owners’ existing kitchen furniture. The entire ground floor, including the bathroom, has a color scheme mainly based on white, accompanied by gray with the texture of upholstery materials, a sandy shade of wood laid on the floor, and furniture made of semi-raw wood in its natural color. This subdued and uniform color scheme gives the interior a minimalist character despite the furniture’s raw, rough texture of wood and contrasting with the round, soft seats. This, along with accessories creating a background for the user and a green oasis in the central part of the ground floor plan and art decorating the walls, may evoke the Japanese tradition of zen.
Project: 2022-2023;
Status: under construction;
Ground floor usable surface: approx. 65m2;
Location: Warszawa, Polska;
Designed by: architect Andrzej Niegrzybowski
