Into the woods

This stunning family home in Magdalenka, Poland, beautifully merges two seemingly opposed concepts: civilisation and raw nature. Situated in the heart of a dense pine forest, the building harmoniously caters to the distinct needs of both day and night, offering a space designed for comfort and inspiration.

Uncompromising nature

The landscape in which the newly designed house is set is so strong and uncompromising that it dictated the architects’ decisions from the very beginning of the design process. The rawness pursued by the architects clearly stand out in both in the form of the designed building and in its finishing materials.

The two main volumes of the house are connected by a linking structure that houses the circulation area and the garage. One serves as a daytime space and the other as a nighttime unit. Following their allocated purposes, the key difference between them lies in their spatial arrangement and the design of the window openings.

Following the sun

On the ground floor, in addition to the spacious living area with a double-height ceiling, there is a guest room and a bathroom with a sauna. The bathroom connects directly to a private terrace featuring a relaxation area with a jacuzzi.

On the upper floor, all auxiliary rooms are arranged along the northern boundary of the plot and have relatively standard-sized windows. The master bedroom and an additional room are located at the outermost parts of the nighttime area, allowing them to open up to southeastern and southwestern sunlight.

Precise material choice

From the very beginning of the design process, the investors emphasised that they wanted three-layer walls with facing bricks. The façade materials were chosen together with the investors. “The brick had to be cut in an extremely precise and accurate way. The final result is very satisfying and minimalistic, which is what we wanted.

The materials that were chosen are ideal for forest conditions. We wanted to match the shape to the forest location of the plot, which is why we chose the Terca Iluzo grey facing brick and Orea 9 roof tiles in grey engobe. Ultimately, the colour of the brick was matched to the available roof tiles so that the whole thing was consistent and harmonious.”, the architects explain.
The selected materials are characterised by good resistance to weather conditions in the forest environment.