House in the Mountains

Outside of the Polish city of Bielsko-Biala, a spacious and cozy residential home was constructed. Perched atop a gently sloping hill along the Beskid Slaski mountain range, the “House in the Mountains” is a barn-style gabled house that overlooks a magnificent landscape of mountains and valleys.

This project is the creation of Polish architects, Jakub Kowalczyk and Gosia Łapaj, who drew inspiration for this project from the rudimentary design of rural houses. Their Krakow-based firm, Kropka Studio, had been commissioned by a private client to design a unique two-story family home with distinct aspects, which included a “children’s house” within the house itself.

Since it stands along a sloped hill, only the top floor can be seen from the driveway. Not only is the property separated into an upper- and lower-floor, but the interior volume is also split vertically by a glass connector, separating the bedrooms from the living room. It has multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a wide kitchen with an island, and a recreational area with a fireplace.

Overall, the interior’s spaciousness was achieved through simple floorplans, high ceilings and huge fixed windows that beautifully frame the mountain view outside.

Jakub and Gosia selected GreenCoat® color coated steel to give this project a distinctive profile. The sustainability of GreenCoat® also played an important role in their choice.

They used GreenCoat Crown BT in a Slate Grey color to create beautiful and distinct standing seam systems for both the roof and façade. GreenCoat® also offers excellent durability in harsh climates. The Slate Grey color contrasts well with both the surrounding snow and the house’s white-walled interior.

GreenCoat® is widely renowned for both high performance and sustainability in architecture. Most GreenCoat® products feature a bio-based coating which uses a substantial portion of Swedish rapeseed oil instead of fossil oil and is unique on the market. This patented solution by SSAB reduces the environmental footprint significantly.

What is the inspiration for this project?

The inspiration came from the rudimentary design of rural houses and the surrounding landscape of mountains and valleys. We were looking for a simple shape to reflect the client’s approach to the modern way of living.

What were the challenges you had to overcome while designing the House in the Mountains?

One of the main challenges was to integrate the large volume of the house without dominating the surroundings. From the driveway, only the upper, black volume is visible.

To what extent did sustainability play a role in the design and construction of the House in the Mountains?

Sustainability is not only about environmentally-friendly materials or energy saving solutions — it’s also about finding highly durable, top performing and functional solutions which answer the clients demands. The House in the Mountains offers a good balance between building and maintenance costs in terms of energy saving as well.

Why did you choose GreenCoat® color coated steel for the roof and façade?

We were looking for a sustainable and durable material that can withstand the harsh climate in the mountains and that creates beautiful and distinct standing seam systems for the roof and façade. The GreenCoat® product chosen uses a substantial amount of Swedish rapeseed oil in the paint — instead of fossil fuel oils.

What do you think about this sustainable innovation for architecture?

It’s important to choose environmentally- friendly materials in every stage of the building process. GreenCoat® steel provides great aesthetics and is a top quality and innovative, sustainable material.

Why did you choose the Slate Grey color for both the roof and façade?

The Slate Grey color plays well with all the surrounding colors — birch trunks, winter snow and the house’s white-walled interior.