Architects:BXB Studio Bogusław Barnaś

Area:327m²

Year:2024

Photographs:Rafał Barnaś, Piotr Krajewski

Roofing:ZM Silesia

Category:Houses

Design Team:Bogusław Barnaś, Magdalena Fuchs, Łucja Janik, Justyna Duszyńska-Krawczyk, Urszula Furmanik, Bartłomiej Mierczak, Yousra Bouras, Mateusz Zima, Michał Kiercz, Jakub Dunal, Edyta Ptasznik

Facade Panels:Equitone

Windows:Multiko

Graphic Design:BXB Studio

City:Kościelisko

Country:Poland

Text description provided by the architects. Set on a scenic plot in Kościelisko village, this house is both a creative reinterpretation of the Podhale region's traditional architecture and a tribute to the Tatra Mountains landscape - especially the iconic hiking trail to Giewont Mountain. The design metaphorically reflects a mountain hike, shaping not only the surrounding path and garden, but above all, the home's core: a vertical circulation layout that culminates in a spectacular view of Giewont.

The form of the House with a Private Giewont draws inspiration from traditional wooden shepherd's huts common in the Podhale region of southern Poland. Its color, texture, and materiality evoke the Tatra landscape - grey, rugged rocks and snow-covered white peaks.

The roof is clad in titanium-zinc sheet metal manufactured by ZM Silesia, and the façade features custom-designed, mobile panels with an openwork structure that allow the house to be freely opened or closed. The original perforation pattern, developed in collaboration with the Equitone brand, achieved several objectives: filtering natural light into the interior, creating a façade texture and color palette inspired by the snow-covered peaks of the Tatra Mountains, and referencing local ornamental motifs. Thanks to the designed lighting, the building resembles a lantern after dark, emitting both light from within and reflected exterior illumination discreetly concealed within the arcade's structure.

The panels, mounted on automated systems, can open and close freely. This transformable façade also acts as a secure enclosure, allowing the building to close in on itself, forming a boundary aligned with the smallest possible perimeter. We also designed the garden using local rocks and mountain pines. The path to the house is made of large stone slabs, recalling Tatra Mountain trails. The landscaping is low-maintenance and blends with the mountain scenery. Boundaries are defined subtly through natural materials - greenery and stone.

Inside, the concept of a mountain trail is reflected in a dramatic circulation spine: a black steel structure winding through all four levels. At its peak, a bridge crosses above the living room, pierces the glazed gable wall, and extends into an outdoor viewing platform. The entire house is designed around this path, which is visible from nearly every room - even the garage, thanks to a glazed ceiling over the underground floor.

The result is a house deeply rooted in its environment, emotionally and physically. The main living space, with the best view, is situated on the upper floor. A fully glazed gable wall frames the Giewont peak, integrating it into the interior and reinforcing the home's mountain atmosphere.

From the panoramic living room, the path continues up to a mezzanine and the bridge. Suspended by three thin steel cables and anchored discreetly into the window framing, it creates a surreal effect of floating above the interior. The bridge gently rises, and its steel railing gradually disappears, becoming fully glazed as it transforms into the final outdoor platform—set at the ridge of the roof. In this house, Giewont becomes an inseparable part of the building—both literally, as it shapes the interior, and emotionally, as it allows one to experience the feelings evoked by the designed trail leading to a panoramic summit.

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