Cantilevered Living Garden House blurs the lines between indoors and out

The unusual Living Garden House, designed by KWK Promes, brings a grassy garden into its residents’ living space.

Built in Katowice, Poland, the home is made up of two rectangular volumes positioned perpendicularly, creating a covered garden area below. Clad in brick and sliding glass walls, the home merges the garden with indoor space, allowing residents to squish their toes in lush faux grass while sitting at the dining room table.

In order to create privacy, the ground floor was positioned parallel to the road, acting as a wall to keep the back yard in seclusion with a nearly solid brick façade. Around the back of the home, the architecture opens up, revealing sliding glass walls that enable the family to circulate indoors and outdoors without being seen from the street.

The closed off front facade is contrasted by the open plan of the back of the house. The second floor volume cantilevers over the yard, creating a unique living garden space below that blurs the lines between indoors and out. Lined with removable glass walls, the grass of the lawn continues into the space below the ledge with a synthetic lawn, creating a surreal experience. During summer months, the glass walls can be removed, merging the living space with the garden.

Inside the home is modern and sleek, with minimalist walls breaking up each living space. Made from brick and local timber, the upper volume houses the bedrooms, which overlook a roof garden that lines the ground level volume.

The integration with nature is continued with a home theater on the first floor, which is lined on the exterior with highly polished mirrored steel that reflects the forested area that lines the perimeter of the property.