Loop House by Mobius Architekci Harmonizes with Nature

Polish architecture firm Mobius Architekci has completed a house with a looped form in southern Poland, wrapping around a natural swimming pond and garden.

Aiming to create “a hidden oasis” for the clients, Mobius Architekci founder Przemek Olczyk designed Loop House as an elongated block enclosing a central courtyard and garden.

Alongside the architecture, Olczyk also oversaw the design of the immediate landscape, seeking to create a building that sits in harmony with its rural surroundings and responds to natural features.

“We set the building in a hollow, which makes the architecture of the house almost invisible from the street and road side,” said Olczyk.

“From a distance, [it] seems to blend in with the landscape, or even hide and not show off in its surroundings,” he continued.

“In contrast, on the lake side, the house opens up completely, displaying its true face to the surroundings.”

At the centre of the elongated and organic form of Loop House is a large, shared living and dining space enclosed by large windows on three sides, which overlook the garden and pond.

To the east, one winding side of the building curves around this main space to contain a living and bedroom area, which faces south to enjoy views across the surrounding landscape.

On the west side of the plan, Loop House steps down slightly to a basement level, where a large living room, bathroom, garage and sauna overlook a stepped terrace, pool and garden.

Each opening has been carefully positioned to frame the views from the home, creating spaces that Olczyk describes as being designed “with a view to a changing nature”.

“The architect chose to use a building form that opens up each of the rooms to the surrounding landscape through gentle folds,” said the studio. “Life here is lived in direct contact with nature.”

“Sunrises and sunsets, changing weather, mists rising over the lake – all become an integral part of the investors’ experience,” it continued.

Loop House features a material palette of stone, wood and Corten steel, unified across both the facades and gardens to help it “blend” into the landscape.

For the facade, portions of the walls were clad in a vertical timber veneer, while others were designed to allow climbing plants to grow vertically and cover the home’s exterior.

The building sits on slightly-raised stone foundations, helping to catch the winds and allow air to flow underneath, as well as reducing its impact on the natural topography.

Fully automated systems for lighting and heating in Loop House aim to make it more energy efficient and sustainable, alongside the inclusion of systems such as heat pumps and photovoltaic panels.

Olczyk prioritises the effect of views and surroundings on the occupants of buildings, having similarly sensitively inserted a partially underground home into a forest in Poland.

“Olczyk is not only concerned about the welfare of the environment, but also that of the people of the planet,” said Mobius Architekc.

“As interpreted by the Mobius studio, the modern farmhouse becomes a manifesto for a modern approach to living that places human comfort and care for the environment on an equal footing,” it continued.