Timber-clad seaside house with wood-textured concrete interior by Ultra Architects

The concrete walls inside this house in Poland by Ultra Architects were formed against wooden boards, creating a grainy texture that inverts the surface of the timber-clad facade (+ slideshow).

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

Named Seaside House, the three-storey residence was designed by Poznań firm Ultra Architects for a site behind the sand dunes of a beach in north-west Poland. This meant that groundwater levels were particularly high, so the house had to be built with a heavy waterproof structure.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

Architects Marcin Kościuch and Tomasz Osięgłowski chose a concrete framework that could be left exposed on walls and ceilings throughout the interior.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

“The building’s structure was designed as a monolithic shell made of reinforced concrete,” they said. “This kind of construction secures safety, geometric stability and tightness. It also let us use a structural material as a natural finishing of interiors.”

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

The exterior walls are clad with the same kind of timber panels used as formwork for the in-situ concrete, allowing the two different materials to match one each other in texture.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

“In effect we achieved a characteristic reversal – warm wood on the outside and rough concrete with imprints of a formwork inside a house,” said the architects.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

The house was constructed on the exact footprint of a demolished older house to prevent disturbing the roots of any surrounding pine trees.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

The volume of the building is made up of two rectilinear blocks that are offset from one another. These form the two main floors, while a third storey is buried below ground level.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

Bedrooms are all positioned on the uppermost floor, including a master suite with its own living room, while living and dining areas occupy the middle floor and open out to a wooden deck. A swimming pool is located in the basement.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

Photography is by Jeremi Buczkowski.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

Read on for more information from Ultra Architects:


Seaside House

The very first task was to choose a structural material which would work in heavy natural conditions on a plot where the building had to stand.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

For the sake of instability of the ground and high level of ground water, the shell of the building must be heavy and waterproof. It also must be firm and solid since we designed large windows to open the interior for a beautiful view of a seaside landscape.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

The answer was simple – concrete. Choosing it, we wanted to make best use of its qualities. Our main idea was sincerity of material – concrete is true both in the way it is used and it looks. These two aspects are not separated from each other but they create a coherent wholeness.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

The building’s structure was designed as a monolithic shell made of reinforced concrete. This kind of construction secures safety, geometric stability and tightness. It also let us use a structural material as a natural finishing of interiors. Concrete has become a leitmotif of the whole design, also determining aesthetic solutions in interiors. Grey colour and a rough texture of concrete are balanced with whiteness of some internal walls and bright, wooden floors.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

Another important material we used in this design is wood. Exterior cladding of elevations is made of screw-in vertical boards (in analogy to the formwork for monolithic structure). In effect we achieved a characteristic reversal – warm wood on the outside and rough concrete with imprints of a formwork inside a house. The third material is a sheet metal. Window-frames and all other exterior metal elements were designed in graphite colour.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

The house was built in a coastal town, on a plot located just behind dunes. It replaced an old building which was too small and architecturally unattractive. Pine trees grow all over the plot and we wanted to save them all. New cubical block was inserted in the place of a former building this way not to remove any of them.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

All elevations of a building are almost identical (each follows the same pattern). Characteristic point of a house is an entrance area which offers two entry points located in both eastern corners of a building, in a part of a plot adjacent to the road. Along the south-west and north-west elevation there is a wooden terrace with a built-in barbecue stove.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

Each storey of a building acts different function. The ground floor which was designed as an open space is intended for daily home activities. First floor serves leisure and entertainment functions. It is divided into two sections: the bigger one, with a view for a sea, it’s owners’ private zone.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

It contains a small living room, bedroom, wardrobe and a bathroom. In the southern part of a floor there are situated three identical guest rooms with bathrooms. Basement accommodates storage and technical facilities as well as a swimming-pool.

Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects

Architects: Marcin Kościuch, Tomasz Osięgłowski / Ultra Architects
Collaborators: Łukasz Piszczałka, Marta Perlik-Napierała
Year: 2013
Area: 470 sqm

Site plan of Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects
Site plan – click for larger image
Ground floor plan of Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects
Ground floor plan – click for larger image
First floor plan of Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects
First floor plan – click for larger image
Section one of Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects
Section one – click for larger image
Section two of Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects
Section two – click for larger image
Elevation one of Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects
Elevation one – click for larger image
Elevation two of Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects
Elevation two – click for larger image
Elevation three of Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects
Elevation three – click for larger image
Elevation four of Timber-clad seaside house with a grainy concrete interior by Ultra Architects
Elevation four – click for larger image

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