In the small town of Mlawa, Poland, this budget-conscious one-storey house by James & Mau was constructed mainly of brick and concrete.
Locating the house to the west of the site frees up as much of the existing garden to the east as possible. With substantial 4m side setbacks, perimeter brick walls - which by law can only reach a height of 2.2 m - divide the long green setbacks into a series of small garden patios. The walls further function as thermo-clay loading-bearing walls, supporting a concrete shell that supports the upper height of the house at 3.3 m.
To the east and west ends of the south façade, two towers at 5.5 meters in height give an urban scale to the house, transitioning between the bigger outside spaces and interior rooms.
The towers feature large holes to collect light. In the future, it is intended that these spaces will be glazed to serve as winter gardens and summer terraces while acting as thermal buffers. Able to pre-climatize and clean air before entering the interior, this strategy achieves a lower energy consumption and enables a double passive ventilation strategy of naturally preheated air in the winter and cooled air in the summer.
Inside, the design maximizes the available 9m wide facades to both the north and the south. Bedrooms requiring less light are situated to the north while common areas are positioned in the south. Thanks to the substantial amount of glazing to the north and south walls, no windows were required on the east or west facades where solar control would have proved challenging.
