The estate was nominated in the prestigious SIMON ARCHITECTURE PRIZE 2024 competition of the MIES VAN DER ROHE FOUNDATION in Barcelona.

Straszyn is a quiet village 12 km from the center of Gdansk.

The estate was located on a unique plot, the eastern edge of which ends in an escarpment overgrown with old-growth forest. At the bottom flows a stream which is a branch of the Radunia river. Here was created an intimate complex of 8 single-family houses, which due to the fact that the facades and roofs are finished with stone was named MONOLIT. The investor's expectation was an estate of houses where each of them will be slightly different from each other, but all together will form a coherent whole. The high quality of the architecture is to make it unique. For us, the most important goal was to create an architecture whose innovative form will harmoniously coexist with nature.

Pawel Lis:

"Standing on the edge of the escarpment, I looked at the terrain that formed here millions of years ago. The estate owes its name to the monoliths, or huge erratic boulders left by the Ice Age, which are found in the Gdansk Pomerania region. The structure of the Monolith was reflected in the stone finish of the roofs and elevations of the buildings. The resulting cohesive form of the houses and its rock-sculptural character reflects well the spirit of the name."

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In type A and B semi-detached houses, the blocks of floors have been offset from each other. The buildings have characteristic overhanging floor extensions on the side of the gardens. They are distinguished by the diagonal form of the walls and white finishes of the recesses. Most of the detached houses have been positioned to the east with terraces on the edge of the slope. They have a unique view of the sloping hillside overgrown with centuries-old oak trees. Building F deserves special attention. Its elongated overhanging floor with a cut-out snow-white recess floats majestically between the trees on the slope.

Pawel Lis:

“The dynamic form of the buildings, their gables, diagonal lines of windows or overhanging floors allude to the geometry of broken and piled-up ice floes. This inspiring phenomenon is the Toros- wandering “small icebergs” occurring in winter in the Baltic Sea off the coast of the Hel Peninsula. This is best seen in the architecture of Villa F.

The whole development fits into the scarp with a stream, formed in the almost-arc, overgrown with old oak trees, whose branches cut the air in different directions.

The first floor of the houses has been designed as a living area with a living room, dining room and open kitchen. There is also a study and a bathroom. The usable height of the first floor is 3m. On the first floor there are 3 bedrooms, a guest room and 2wie bathrooms. The usable height of the first floor is 2.7m. Each unit has a 2-bay garage on the first floor with a technical room. The garage doors have been flush with the facade.

The construction of the houses has been based on reinforced concrete walls gr 18cm and monolithic ceilings. The elevations and roof were designed with a ventilated system and finished with slabs of gray hard sandstone from Męcina near Nowy Sącz.

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 8 houses and keep the geometry of the sloping terrain unchanged, including the slope overgrown with old-growth trees.

Improved the energy efficiency of homes and lowered their operating cost:

The carbon footprint has been reduced. The buildings are powered by heat pumps and equipped with a recuperation system. Each home features a SUNROOF solar roof and energy storage. Garages have been fitted with connections for charging electric cars. The buildings are powered by heat pumps, equipped with a recuperation system. Each house features a solar roof with SUNROOF technology and energy storage. The buildings are clad in natural stone. Materials with a higher degree of insulation were used, warm installation of windows in 3-pane packages. The estate has retention tanks for rainwater recovery and re-watering of gardens. Existing greenery was preserved, new plantings were planned and made throughout the Estate. Part of the pavements were made as biologically active areas and an outdoor lighting system for the gardens and walkways. The slope was preserved and strengthened, preserving the old trees growing there. The stream bed at the bottom of the escarpment was cleaned and cleared.

The architecture of the Monolith house complex was inspired by the topography of the area, nature and unique phenomena that take place in Gdansk Pomerania. Finishing the buildings with natural stone made it possible to achieve a coherent, sculptural character for the entire estate and inscribe it in the unusual terrain.

FUNCTION: Estate of 8 semi-detached and detached houses
LOCATION: Straszyn near Gańsk, Marsa/Jowisz street
USED AREA: 2160m2
YEAR: Project 2021-Realization 2024.

INVESTOR: 4 KONCEPT and HERZINVEST

ARCHITECT/AUTHOR: mgr. arch. Paweł Lis,

CO-OPERATION: mgr.. arch. Piotr Gasparski

GREENING DESIGN: arch. Magdalena Dorozik

CONSTRUCTION: mgr inż. Jan Tolksdorf

Photorender: Outrun Szymon Biegaj