The title of best single-family residential building this year went to the Slit House by PL.architekci studio. The jury of the SARP 2021 Year Award appreciated the project for, among other things, its non-standard approach and unusual solutions. So what distinguishes this best single-family home in Poland?
minimalist body of modern single-family house
photo: Tom Kurek
Among the Poznan single-family buildings from the 1970s and 1980s, the team from PL.architekci studio realized a house for a family of four. The investors, who had lived in Spain for many years, had clear expectations.
They wanted a house full of light, but at the same time for it to give them intimacy and coziness. By design, the investors expected a house that was very refined in minimalist details - but also very modest in expression. As they themselves stressed, they didn't care about the excursions of architecture students," the project's authors recall.
Meeting the expectations of the investors was not so easy, however, as the challenge turned out to be the plot itself, on which the house was to stand - not large, cramped, with a southern exposure at the front, and with demanding development conditions (requiring construction along a building line five meters from the plot boundary, sidewalk and street). So the architects faced a dilemma - how to adequately illuminate the house and at the same time provide the residents with the desired privacy and quiet? The search for a solution to this problem determined the final shape of the project.
scheme for solving the problem of interior illumination
© PL.architekci
The body of the house was dissected with a 2.5-meter-wide skylight running the entire length, which illuminates both the first floor and the first floor throughout the day while maintaining the desired intimacy. The house, despite being open with windows mainly to the north, is full of light! The skylight also formally divides the first floor into a parent's area and a children's area accessible via a footbridge. Such an opening also facilitates communication between household members located on different levels, the designers explain.
The 
the block was split by a skylight running through its entire length, which illuminates both the first floor and the first floor
Photo: Tom Kurek
From the outside, this solution is almost invisible - from the street side, all that is visible is a minimalist, simple block - a modest cube covered with narrow and oblong ceramic tiles with deeply set large glazing with black borders.
The 
From the side of the street you can see a minimalist, simple block - a modest cube covered with narrow and elongated ceramic tiles
Photo: Tom Kurek
What diversifies and at the same time organizes the interior of the house is the aforementioned structural slit of the block and the skylight, also appreciated by the jury of the SARP Year Award 2021 competition:
This solution made it possible to reduce window openings on the side of a busy street, providing comfort and intimacy for the residents," reads the justification of the Competition Jury. -In addition, the design of internal communication in the building in the form of a footbridge made it possible to clearly separate the functions of the building, while at the same time providing comfortable and fast communication between the relevant functions of the building. The skylight, the footbridge, the body of the building and the cladding of the facade give a unique character to the building, which will provide timelessness to the project. The Slit House is architecturally interesting now and will be interesting many years from now.
Running diagonally, the wall from the skylight to the ceiling of the first floor extends the natural lighting of the first floor,
and the internal footbridge provides quick communication between the various functions inside the house
photo: Tom Kurek
The interior, also designed by a team from PL.architekci studio, is also modern and minimalist, but also broken up with elements that diversify the space, such as a diagonally led wall running from the skylight to the ceiling of the first floor, which illuminates the first floor, or a box encased in oak cladding, which houses the staircase, toilet, kitchen buildings and a freight elevator.
There is no coincidence in this house: all cladding, built-ins, ceiling or wall lines are precisely matched and connected with each other, creating minimalist details and harmony: of architecture, interior and light... with the daily life of the residents," the architects conclude.
