Jurassic Klippen Belt is a phenomenon of nature. It is a place with limestone monadnocks rising over this undulating landscape. It's a mecca for rock climbers, where the most outstanding Polish Alpine and Himalayan climbers practiced. Near the Bolechowicka and Kluczwody Valleys, which are strict nature reserves, in Bolechowice near Krakow, Barycz & Saramowicz Design Office erected a villa, whose spatial shape is a response to the unusual desiderata of the landscape. Thus, Liliana Jampolska could write: “the slender shape of the building rises dynamically from the top of one of the hills of this unique Jurassic landscape. This extensive villa catches our eye with intriguing architecture and a master embedding in the landscape.”
Spatial composition of the Jurassic Villa, consisting of numerous horizontal lines referring to the open landscape of Malopolska, was enriched by expressive vertical accents, and these slender forms are a parallel to Jurassic rock formations. The villa has a spectacular location. It has a view of Krakow and the panorama of the Beskid Mountains with Mount Babia on the horizon, and on the days when the air is the most transparent – even of the Tatra Mountains. Therefore, when planning the interior layout, we designed it in such a way so that the users each day could enjoy the values of the landscape. Nature and landscape penetrate the interior of the villa with precisely planned perspective frames, through numerous and large windows in the walls of the building, often as tall as a whole storey; but additionally, the residents have the possibility to go out to the terrace, gallery or simply exit to the garden from almost every room. A prominent position on a hill is always an architectural handicap, so the location of the building on the boundary of a slope was the intentional action, ensuring the best views and the opportunity to create an interesting and, at the same time, functional architecture.
A simple and functional layout of the building was tailored to meet the needs of the family with two children. On the ground floor, where the living and private areas are located next to each other, the interior spaces were band-shape arranged, but both parts were separated with an openwork wall, with a recurring theme of modern cloisters. In the daytime living spaces, the kitchen, the dining room and the living room with a fireplace were distinguished by diversified levels of floors and ceilings. The private zone was designed as two adjacent independent living complexes, separate for the children and for the parents. Next to the children's rooms, their own bathroom was located, as well as the porch leading to the terrace – the patio. The babysitter's room is adjacent to the children's living complex; it is sometimes used as a guest suite. The parents' private zone extends from the side of the garden, with a rich functional spectrum. In addition to the master bedroom and dressing room, there is a spacious bathroom, a relaxation room with sauna, and finally a large terrace and a separate exit to the garden. The main part of the building has a one-storey plan; on the lower ground floor there is a woodshed and room for garden equipment, and the first floor houses a study room and audio-visual rooms.
Striving for material coherence, we decided that a manually broken silicate brick in grey colour would be an ideal solution in Jurassic Villa, as it conducts a dialogue with snow-white plaster, and all this is a reference to the limestone forms of the landscape. The rest is predominantly in grey metallic tones, such as galvanized railings, brise-soleil of anodized aluminium, granite and basalt floors. The specific aesthetic climate of this villa grows out of multi-planning, multiplication of architectural designs. In addition to geometric shapes and large glass surfaces, pergolas were used, and part of the façade was formed as modern portals to produce enriched art of light and shadow.
In the spatial philosophy of Barycz & Saramowicz Design Office the key point is to find such a shape of a building where the living space turns into a landscape.
Dr. Rafal Barycz, architect
Dr. Pawel Saramowicz, architect
