Recently, the Krakow-based studio UCEES has been heard of in the context of the success of its emerging multifamily architecture, most notably the award-winning Nova Mikołowska development in Katowice. Residential housing is also the core of the studio's work, with numerous projects and developments in Krakow, Katowice or Warsaw. This does not mean, however, that UCEES is limited to designing apartment buildings. The fact that they also excel at single-family housing is evidenced by a villa that has sprung up in Krakow's Beverly Hills. What sets the White House apart?
Dom Biały stood in its natural habitat - among the narrow streets of Krakow's Wola Justowska, where stately villas are the main component of the development. Part of the Zwierzyniec district, and until 1941 a village near Krakow, it is called Krakow's Beverly Hills, and for good reason - it is considered extremely prestigious, located on a hilly terrain and surrounded by the greenery of the Wolski Forest, where, in addition to the ZOO and Piłsudski Mound, the historic buildings of a Camaldolese monastery are hidden.
The White House in Wola Justowska, Krakow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
Despite the respectable company (in addition to the Renaissance Villa Decius and the historic wooden architecture in Wola Justowska stands, among others, the Shingle House, designed by nsMoonStudio), the White House does not retreat into the shadows. On the contrary, it is stepping out in front of the crowd and, as the architects assure, trying to attract attention with its architecture, without looking at its neighborhood.
The White House in Wola Justowska in Cracow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
appearances are deceiving
On the surface, the body of the White House is relatively simple, one might even say - typical. Starting from the form of a cuboid, suitably reduced, the architects of the UCEES studio designed a single-family building with two overground floors, the higher of which has been reduced in size so as to give the impression of settling on an architectural plinth formed by the first floor. Both in the front elevation and in the western wall facing the garden, a bit of volume was carved out of the first floor, creating an arcade hiding the garage entrance and a corner large window.
The White House in Wola Justowska, Krakow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
The layout of the rooms also bears no signs of experimentation - the well-known division of space into a living area, intended for both household members and their guests, and a private one, located on the first floor, has been applied. Thus, on the first floor there is a kitchen, a large living room, as well as bathrooms and utility rooms, while above them, in addition to a study and bathrooms, there are three bedrooms - the parents', the child's and an additional guest room.
The White House in Wola Justowska in Cracow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
However, the devil is in the details, and more specifically in the detail, which is the strongest point and distinguishing feature of the White House, covered with sculptural concrete panels of varying forms.
The White House in Wola Justowska, Krakow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
concrete frieze
The concrete panels that make up the facade come in three basic forms. The first floor is covered with snow-white, rectangular panels, whose minimalism and careful fitting, provide an optical basis for the second floor. There, the main role is played by concrete, three-dimensional panels in the form of concave shells, meeting with the convexity of their edges. The repetitiveness of the pattern gives the building a rhythmic feel, and the spatiality of the facade means that, depending on the time of day and year, a chiaroscuro spectacle plays out on the building's facades, each day in a slightly different edition.
The White House in Wola Justowska, Krakow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
In the shadow, both literally and figuratively, of the two dominant concrete panel formats, is the last of the facade panel types. These are sculpted, or "laser chiseled" panels, as the authors describe. They are found in withdrawn terraces and arcades, rising to the height of windows, with which they usually appear in tandem. The pattern chosen for these elements is the least architectural and geometric, instead heavily sculptural. Although ultimately abstract, with its shapes it resembles a thick, regularly draped fabric. The softness of its forms provides an effective counterpoint to the rigorous arrangements that will appear below and above it. To emphasize the nuanced play of chiaroscuro, the withdrawn "drapes" are illuminated from above, so that even after nightfall, when shadows no longer dance on the front parts of the facade, the spectacle on the White House walls continues.
The White House in Wola Justowska, Krakow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
The only material that complements the concrete dominance of the White House's facades is glass. This appears in the glazing of the first floor and first floor (including the corner ones) and in the railings that discreetly protect the terrace encircling almost the entire volume of the building's second story.
The White House in Wola Justowska, Krakow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
a house where antiquity met modernist painting
Although composed entirely of abstract forms, the facade of the White House may bring to mind successive layers of beams in an ancient temple. This is not the only association that comes to mind for the white villa in Wola Justowska. As the architects emphasize, they sought inspiration in the work of the patron of the street on which the building they designed stood, Leon Chwistek. The zoned compositions "City I" and "City II" can be expressed in the bright divisions on the facade of the White House.
The White House in Wola Justowska, Krakow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
concrete, but recycled
As is widely known, concrete is responsible for a significant portion of the planet's carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. According to recent estimates, the construction sector is responsible for as much as 40% of all emissions of this gas. Single-family houses themselves also don't get the best press, consuming more resources compared to multi-family developments and reducing urban density, contributing to urban sprawl.
The White House in Wola Justowska, Krakow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
In order to reduce the environmental footprint associated with the construction of the White House, architects from the UCEES studio applied several solutions from under the "eco" sign. The innovations mainly concerned the materials used. Although the White House "shines" with novelty, in fact the building material used for its construction has a lot of history behind it. For the construction of the house used materials from the demolition of Zbigniew Wlodecki's villa (winner of the Bronze Medal of the SARP Krakow Branch in 1960), which had been standing since the 1950s on a plot of land on Leon Chwistek Street. We're talking about concrete, in which traditional aggregate has been replaced by demolition aggregate from a post-war villa.
The White House in Wola Justowska, Krakow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
In the concrete production process, however, it is not the aggregate but the cement that is responsible for the greatest amount of emissions. In the case of the White House, it is not ordinary. Although it failed to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide it emitted into the atmosphere, it itself has a positive effect on the level of its cleanliness. Thanks to the use of photocatalytic TioCem cement, the facade panels with which the building in Wola Justowska is covered actively clean the atmosphere of nitrogen oxides, compounds that are one of the main components of urban smog. "Titanium" admixture, which is responsible for this action, also has a positive side effect - the strongest anti-smog effect occurs on the very surface of the facade panels, so these will remain snow-white for a long time, as they are right after completion.
The White House in Wola Justowska, Krakow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
uncommon concrete
As for the concrete itself, this one is not ordinary either. And it's not just about the form and careful fitting of the concrete elements. When designing the building, the architects relied on GRC technology, i.e. concrete reinforced with fiberglass In such a building you won't find traditional steel reinforcement - instead, scattered fiberglass elements are mixed into the mass. Compared to ordinary concrete, fibrobrete, as it is also sometimes called, is characterized by increased resistance to crushing and strength, while weighing less. Choosing the highest quality concrete must have been a priority for the White House, since the concrete facade is the main means of expression of its architecture.
The White House in Wola Justowska, Krakow
Photo: Piotr Ulatowski © UCEES
The spatial solutions, cascading in both plan and height, emphasize the dialogue between the open form on the garden side and the more closed, monolithic expression on the street side.
- The designers of the White House conclude.
