It’s like two houses in one

Featuring all-black metal, concrete, and glass, this modern home in Poland’s Silesian Beskids mountain range is perfectly no-nonsense.

Polish firm Kropka Studio designed the family home with two levels—while the gabled top level is wrapped in black metal panels, the somewhat concealed bottom part is built partially into the hillside and uses concrete blocks.

The visual separation is also a functional decision: The architects wanted to build two houses in one.

“One of the client’s main wishes was to create a ‘children’s house’ within the building,” Kropka Studio founder, Jakub Kowalczyk, told Dezeen. The lower level houses the children’s play space as well as bedrooms, while the upper level contains the main living areas including the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The interior follow the exterior’s lead, which is to say it’s all about clean lines and neutral colors.

Despite its sturdy materials, the home exudes a sense of lightness thanks to a series of windows that cut into the facade in an asymmetrical arrangement. On the top floor, a flat-roofed glass corridor also helps break apart the gabled roof for a little extra visual excitement.