RD 40 is a symbol of a shift in thinking about Polish residential development. The changing world, and with it contemporary architecture in 21st-century Poland, are forcing a change in investors' perceptions of this development segment. This cubic villa, inheriting the simplicity of expression and clear function from the modernist era, was built in a village near Warsaw.
Devoid of colonnaded arcades, pitched tile roofs, and classic artifacts typical of 19th-century manor house architecture, RD 40 can easily stand alongside other contemporary residences anywhere in Europe.
A large, regular plot of 3,000 m2 and the local Development Conditions provided the opportunity to design virtually any flat-roofed house of up to 500 m2. The investor arrived at Paweł Lis's studio with a practically finished design that bore little resemblance to the house that was ultimately built. The home was intended to accommodate a family of three, a dog, and a cat.
Initially, the house was based on the safe assumption that we like what we know well, what has accompanied us since childhood, and what has been associated with "safety and comfort" over the years. The building featured a high ground floor, a first floor, and an attic. Everything was covered by a pitched, multi-hipped roof with a large arcade. Since the house was over 600 m2, it included many different rooms with plenty of windows. These, in turn, failed to create a coherent rhythm on the facade or help achieve the right proportions for the entire house. The only problem the investor noticed was the lack of a suitable place for the TV.
The most difficult task for the architect was to convince the investor that a house of over 600 m2 required deeper consideration and analysis before spending amounts far exceeding the average budget for building a home for a family of three. The lack of a suitable place for the TV was merely the tip of the iceberg of problems hidden in the investor's proposal.
It turned out that the most effective method was to show another recently completed house that well reflected the features of a contemporary villa characteristic of the Paweł Lis Architects studio. Just one visit was enough to realize that, deep down, the investor was actually a great fan of contemporary architecture. This was later confirmed throughout the entire construction process and the subsequent use of the house.
It turned out that all the residents' needs could be very comfortably met in a house 100 m2 smaller. This is how a two-story pavilion based on an elongated "L" plan was created. The longer part of the ground floor in the south wing houses the living room, dining room, kitchen, and a study. The height of the living area is 3.5 m, and the open space above the dining room and stairs reaches a height of 6.5 m. The west wing contains a guest room, a fitness room, a studio, and a bathroom. The entrance hall and utility rooms found their place at the intersection of the two sections. At the front, there is a 3-car garage. Since the investor did not want to divide the garage door, a custom-made gate over 7 m long was designed and manufactured, similar to those used in aviation hangars.
The first floor features a child's room with a walk-in closet and a bathroom, a master bedroom with a walk-in closet and a bathroom, as well as a laundry room. The mezzanine overlooks the ground-floor living room and the garden.
All floors are covered with a dove-gray polymer. The living room is dominated by a large sandstone fireplace and a cubic wall made of large alexandrite panels. The wall supporting the overhanging upper floor simultaneously screens the kitchen on the other side. The vestibule retains a reinforced concrete ceiling. The walls also had to provide space for the sensual and colorful paintings by Prof. Tomasz Milanowski.
By arranging the building in an "L" shape with the east wing facing the entrance, it was possible to create a well-sunlit, intimate courtyard open to the south side of the garden. Thanks to the heavy glazing on both the ground floor and the first floor, it acts as the focal point of the entire house.
Energy efficiency is also a hallmark of this heavily glazed house. The enhanced thermal performance of the windows was achieved by using a warm aluminum profile and triple glazing. Additionally, PIR insulation boards with a thermal conductivity coefficient (Lambda) of 0.022 W/(mK) were used, along with the installation of windows on anchors flush with the facade. The house is designed with a heat recovery ventilation system (recuperation) and solar panels on the roof. There is also an energy storage system. Safety glass was used on both the ground and first floors. ROBEN's OSLO clinker tiles were used to finish the facade, and vertical louvers were installed on the first floor. The exterior terraces were constructed using architectural concrete.
The heavily glazed building was designed simply and based on a clear function. The entire structure blends well into the topography of the large plot and, thanks to its composition, takes on the character of contemporary residential architecture.
