Project name: House From 1923 | Location: Szczecin, Poland | Completed: 2019 | Interior Design: Loft Kolasiński
The Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi is based on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. In Japan, the meaning of wabi-sabi is summed up by the phrase “wisdom in natural simplicity”, that’s to say that true beauty is found in the natural imperfection of objects: a cracked bowl fixed with uneven clay or a vintage shirt that shows the signs of its age with stitched tears. Loft Kolasiński’s House From 1923 is a project rooted in wabi-sabi, updated by the influences of Japanese and Brazilian modernism.
The interiors project is found within a house built in 1923 in Szczecin, Poland and required a complete renovation and reconstruction to fulfil its main aim: to alter the classic layout of the house which was divided into several small rooms.
The ground floor is now a bright open-plan area featuring a kitchen, dining room, living room and office. In keeping with the wabi-sabi inspiration behind the project, Loft Kolasiński used as many natural materials have been used as possible. The walls throughout House From 1923 and ceiling joists of the first floor were covered in clay plaster while the ceiling joists of the ground floor have been cleaned and left unprotected. The ground floor boasts an original stove highlighted by handmade tiles which are rivalled only by the floor tiles in the kitchen dating back to 1923.
One of the project’s focal points is the over two-hundred-year-old olive tree housed in the glazed veranda which was chosen because of the client’s love of the outdoors.
Designs by Isamu Noguchi, Jader Almeida and Junzo Sakakura populate the interior, instilling the project with modernist appeal. Our favourite feature of the project is a unique Polish wool carpet from 1969 which accentuates the bold lines of the modernist furniture while contrasting with the dramatic olive tree.
Photography by Joel Hauck.
In small areas, intelligent use of space becomes supremely important. For a masterclass in space management, take the tour of Fitzroy Terrace.
