RUBRA. HOUSES IN RED

Straszyn, Poland

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SWOOSH HOUSE

RUBRA. HOUSES IN RED

Straszyn, Poland

Firm

pawel lis architekci

Type

Residential › Multi Unit Housing

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2024

SIZE

10,000 sqft - 25,000 sqft

BUDGET

Undisclosed

Straszyn is a village 12 km from the center of Gdansk. The site of the project is a sloping terrain, which slopes down to the south and ends in an escarpment overgrown with old-growth forest. Here was created an intimate complex of houses, which because of its brick red color received the name RUBRA.
In search of inspiration.
In designing our estate we tried to refer to the building past of the Gdansk Pomerania region. The overhanging blocks of the floors refer to the characteristic arcaded houses, and the form of the walls and canopies slanted at an acute angle can be referred to the diagonal stays used in frame structures.
Another inspiration was the picturesque plot of land, sloping in a southerly direction and ending in a wooded slope.
The sloping terrain itself encouraged the placement of the houses in a cascading pattern. This gives each house a better view, more light, and a terrace and garden with an opening to the south.

Why did we opt for clinker on the facade?

Hand-formed brick has been used in our project area for many centuries. Among other things, it was used to build free-standing bread ovens.
Clinker, which covers the facades of the designed buildings, is a reference to the architecture that was created here in the interwar period. One can mention the remains of railroad station buildings, residential houses or the mill building - erected in Pruszcz Gdański at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The most important inspiration in this regard are the still existing hydroelectric power plants erected on the Radunia River since the beginning of the 20th century.
Rubra estate and its structure
The estate consists of 6 semi-detached buildings and 1 detached building. The buildings are arranged in a cascade which allows them to have a proper relationship with each other. Buildings located on top of a sloping plot can have a better view from the floor above the buildings below.
We opted out of using solid brick on the facade due to the large thickness of the exterior wall and the limited size of the development. We decided to use clinker tile obtained from cut hand-formed bricks.
All buildings have individually designed and constructed gardens, an irrigation system from reclaimed rainwater and a lighting system. An old-growth tree has been preserved on the slope and the entire estate has received many new plantings.

Type A, B, C semi-detached houses.
Each type A and B semi-detached house has 236m2 of living space and a two-car garage. Type C houses look slightly different and each have 233m2 of living space and a two-car garage.
On the first floors, in addition to a living room with a kitchen, there are also study rooms. The floors have 4 rooms, two bathrooms and a boiler room with a laundry room. The first floors, which are 3m high, have been glazed with aluminum-framed windows and equipped with an HS-type sliding system. All windows have been flush with the facade and set on extended consoles outside the face of the structure.
To emphasize the separate character of the buildings in a semi-detached arrangement, the blocks of the floors have been moved away from each other.
Overhanging canopies of the floors are a characteristic element of these houses. They protect the rooms from excessive heat from the south side, and their oblique form gives dynamics to the whole building.
Each garage door has been flush with the facade. Since the Horman company does not provide such a system solution, it was necessary to use consoles, think and design such a detail.

Detached house type D
The house managed to fit in an extremely charming place of the estate-just in front of an escarpment overgrown with old-growth trees.
The detached house has 267m2 of floor space and a two-car garage. On the first floor, in addition to the living room and dining room with kitchen, there is a study. On the first floor we designed 4 rooms and two bathrooms, as well as laundry and boiler rooms.
This is a house with a unique character. The first floor has been recessed below the level of the entrance. It has a characteristic longitudinal window, which looks like a gap in the rock wall. The garage has been separated from the living area by a glazed through corridor. This gives such an effect that those entering the house are greeted by a view of the trees on the other side. The lump of the first floor on the entrance side has been clad with seamed metal sheets and cut with vertical windows reaching to the edge of the roofing. On the south side, the house has a large terrace with a beautiful view of the old-growth forest.
Above the slope of the falling slope, it was possible to make an additional smaller terrace in the form of a concrete footbridge hanging in the air.

Summary:
When designing the estate, the principle of Sustainable Development was applied. The investor was convinced to optimize the size of the buildings. Maintaining the functional program of the houses, the footprint of the buildings was reduced to accommodate 7 buildings and keep the geometry of the land unchanged, including the slope overgrown with old oak trees. Each house is prepared for installation of solar panels and energy storage. A retention system has been prepared on the plot for recovering rainwater and watering the garden with it. Green driveways were made to increase the biologically active area. Materials with a higher degree of insulation were used, warm installation of windows in 3-pane packages. The slope was preserved and strengthened, preserving the old-growth tree growing there. The stream bed at the bottom of the slope was cleaned and cleared. Light wooden terraces between the trees suspended over the slope of the escarpment were made, which allow to use the difficult terrain without damaging it.
The architecture of the Rubra estate is a contemporary interpretation of the historical buildings of the region. Simple blocks stacked on top of each other, sloping walls of overhangs and the red of burnt clinker give them a consistent, timeless character. The houses have been cascaded into the sloping terrain. All this makes the estate's architecture fit in with the unusual plot and the whole context of the historic buildings of Gdansk Pomerania. This is one of our favorite developments.

The estate was nominated in the prestigious Simon Architecture Prize 2024, Fundacio Mies Van Der Rohe Barcelona competition.
One of the most important industry portals Archinea/Onet recognized Rubre as the Most Interesting Architecture in Poland in 2024.

RUBRA. HOUSES IN RED.
FUNCTION: Estate of 7 semi-detached and detached houses
LOCATION: Straszyn near Gdańsk, Jasia i Małgosia Street
USABLE AREA: 1645m2
YEAR: 2024 implementations
PROJECT: PAWEL LIS ARCHITEKCI
AUTHOR: arch. Pawel Lis
CO-OPERATION: arch. Karolina Osuchowska, mgr. arch. Piotr Gorzelańczyk
INVESTOR: 4 KONCEPT
CONTRACTOR: HERZ INVEST

PHOTO: Emi Karpowicz

video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nemDdwmcXJo&t=1s
https://pawellis.pl/rubra-domy-w-czerwieni-straszyn-pod-gdanskiem