See through house

House in Wrocław Karłowice

Wrocław PL
area:  265 m2
project:  2015
completion: 2017
architects:  Kuba Wozniczka, Rafał Specylak
interior design: Creatica – Patrycja Kisiel
photo: Krzysztof Smyk, http://www.ksmyk.com/

The house was designed on a small, narrow plot in Wroclaw’s Karłowice district.
With the scale and character of the body  the building refers to the dominant buildings on its street – the so-called “Cubes” from the 1970s. 

The idea for the unusual arrangement of functions and related openings in the south and north facades resulted mainly from unfavorable orientation of the plot in relation to sunlight.
The plot meets the street with its southern border and the garden is on the northern side.
In order to provide bright spaces in the interiors of the open living area on the ground floor, it was decided to use large glazing in both the northern and the southern facades.

Large windows in the northern façade provide a view and access to the garden, while the equally large windows in the southern façade provide a view of the street and good lighting of the interior with natural light.
In addition – the central part of the living room with a void – was illuminated by a large skylight.
In this way, the house functions in a “see-through” scheme,  as the side walls are windowless due to regulations regarding the distance from the plot boundaries  (-the plot is narrow).
The house was designed to adapt a few future development scenarios.