DWS Kochanowskiego: Warm Midcentury Apartment Revival in Gdańsk
DWS Kochanowskiego unfolds inside an 80-square-meter (861-square-foot) apartment in Gdańsk, Poland, where Raca Studio works within a pre-war tenement envelope. The renovation respects the existing layout while restoring long-covered elements, giving a young pair of doctors a home that aligns new comforts with historic character. Warm tones, reawakened timber, and a measured mid-century mood tie the old structure to their daily routines.
Soft light catches the grain of newly uncovered boards, running from room to room in a quiet rhythm underfoot. Warm walls and pale cabinetry hold that glow, letting the historic shell frame a calmer, updated life.
This is DWS Kochanowskiego, an 80-square-meter (861-square-foot) apartment in a pre-war tenement in Gdańsk’s Wrzeszcz district, reworked by Raca Studio for two young doctors. The brief centers on restoring original elements and shaping an interior that answers the building’s historic character with a warm, mid-century-leaning palette. Color, texture, and carefully drawn built-ins give the compact plan a sense of continuity from entry to kitchen to bedroom.
Restoring The Ground Plane
Everything starts with the floor. Original underlayment boards, long hidden, are uncovered and promoted to the top finish, their warm tone setting the apartment’s visual baseline. Because the timber needs to remain intact, changes to the layout stay minimal, preserving the clear outline of the existing floor and reinforcing a feeling of gentle continuity between rooms. Each doorway, old or reopened, becomes a frame for that uninterrupted wooden field.
Reworking Rooms In Sequence
Raca Studio leans into the building’s traditional sequence of rooms rather than fighting it. An enfilade between the largest rooms is recreated, drawing a direct line of sight and light through the apartment and adding a subtle sense of ceremony to daily movement. The smallest room disappears from the plan so the kitchen can expand, trading compartmentalization for a generous cooking and dining area. This adjustment respects the historic framework while aligning it with contemporary social habits around the table.
Bedroom Storage Reimagined
In the bedroom, storage becomes both architectural and quiet. A new walk-in closet is carved out as a built-in wardrobe volume, accessed through a once bricked-up door now reopened to restore flow. The move keeps the perimeter clear, allowing the warm floorboards and light beige walls to read as a calm envelope. Everyday clothing and belongings retreat into this compact room, so the sleeping area can stay uncluttered and restful.
Warm Palette, Mid-Century Mood
Color and material pull the interior toward a mid-century aesthetic without pastiche. Light beige stretches across walls and built-in furniture, catching daylight and pairing with the warm wood floor and veneers for a grounded, human scale. Muted orange and burgundy accents arrive through accessories and lighting, small shots of depth against the calm base that keep the rooms from feeling flat. Black and steel details cut through the warmth, adding crisp lines and a touch of graphic clarity to handles, fixtures, and fittings.
Kitchen As Daily Hub
The enlarged kitchen carries much of the project’s social life. With the former small room absorbed, there is now room for a dining table and a central island, a priority for the clients. The island anchors conversations, quick breakfasts, and late-night returns from the hospital, while the surrounding cabinetry continues the light beige tone for visual calm. Warm wood underfoot and deep-colored accents overhead keep this everyday hub connected to the rest of the apartment’s palette.
Toward evening, the sequence of rooms reads as a gentle loop of light, wood, and softened color. Restored doors, re-opened passages, and that continuous timber floor hold the story of the old tenement in a quieter key. Within that frame, Raca Studio’s warm finishes and measured adjustments give the couple a home that feels grounded in history yet ready for their present rhythm.
Photography courtesy of Raca Studio
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