Dezeen Magazine

Domo Dom house by Tadeusz Lemanski arches up to face the sky

The front of this house in Kraków, Poland, is curved dramatically up towards the sky so that Polish architect Tadeusz Lemański could squeeze a garage underneath (+ slideshow).

Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski

Tadeusz Lemański designed the building – known as Domo Dom – for a single resident who was keen to have a garage in his home, despite local planning rules that tightly restricted the size and shape of the new structure.

"The main idea of the project was to design each room in the way that they do not lose anything from their functionality," explained the architect. "At the same time, the house has to meet land development conditions that impose using gable roofs."

Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski

Lemański's solution was to create a single-storey volume and abstract it, so the end angles up towards the sky. This allowed a boxy garage volume to be slotted in underneath.

Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski

"The concept of the house is a simple cube that includes the main functions – living room, kitchenette and bedroom," he said. "In order to fulfil the development conditions, the bedroom was lifted to the loft and the garage was moved under it."

Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski

The house is located in a suburban neighbourhood on the edge of Wolski Forest, west Kraków. To echo the materials used on the more traditional neighbouring structures, the architect specified grey sandstone and black titanium-zinc panels for the exterior cladding.

Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski

The contrasting shades of these two materials also help to emphasise the division between the main living spaces and the garage.

Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski

The garage door fronts the building, so the main entrance is situated along one of the side walls.

It leads through to a compact hallway with a combined living room and kitchen to the left, a bathroom in front, and a staircase on the right that leads up to the first-floor bedroom.

Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski

Two side windows are angled to match the slope of the staircase, which runs alongside the garage wall.

"Their shape underlines the dynamism of the building that rises in the same direction," added Lemański.

Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski

In the bedroom, the unusual shape of the roof creates a ceiling that rises up to a point then curves down so much that it almost meets the floor.

Three skylights bring daylight into the space, while built-in wooden fittings offer seating and storage.

Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski

At the rear of the house, a wall of glazing allows the resident to open his living space out to an elevated terrace and a lawn.

Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski

Photography is by Tomasz Zakrzewski.

Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski
Ground floor plan – click for larger image
Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski
First floor plan – click for larger image
Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski
Section one – click for larger image
Domo Dom by Tadeusz Lemanski
Section two – click for larger image