Architecture

Innovative moving terrace regulates light entering this remarkable home

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Quadrant House's moving terrace travels between its living room and spa
Jaroslaw Syrek
Quadrant House is located in central Poland
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quadrant House has a gable roof on the street side to comply with planning requirements
Juliusz Sokoàowski
"The investors wanted a home that reacted to the sun, which is why we used the quadrant motif – an old device used to determine the position of the stars," explains KWK Promes' Robert Konieczny
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quandrant House features a movable terrace that's installed on a track system
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quadrant House's moving terrace can be used to open up the home to the outside
Juliusz Sokoàowski
The terrace, shown in movement
Juliusz Sokoàowski
The terrace, shown in movement
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quadrant House has a total floorspace of 558 sq m (6,000 sq ft), spread over two floors
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quadrant House's moving terrace travels atop a rail
Juliusz Sokoàowski
The moving terrace offers a pleasant place to sit as it slowly travels between the Quadrant House's glass-fronted living room and spa
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Because the Quadrant House's terrace moves regularly, grass can still grown beneath 
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quadrant House's moving terrace changing position
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quadrant House's moving terrace runs on a track buried in the ground
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quadrant House's living area features operable glazing
Juliusz Sokoàowski
The front street-facing side of Quadrant House has no windows but the side that faces the garden has generous glazing
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quadrant House is located in a suburban area of central Poland
Juliusz Sokoàowski
The Quadrant House features three bedrooms 
Juliusz Sokoàowski
The Quadrant House's moving terrace is operated by switch
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quadrant House's moving terrace from the inside
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quadrant House's living area features operable glazing
Juliusz Sokoàowski
Quadrant House is located in a suburban area of central Poland
Jaroslaw Syrek
The Quadrant House has a total floorspace of 558 sq m (6,000 sq ft), spread over two floors
Jaroslaw Syrek
Quadrant House's moving terrace travels between its living room and spa
Jaroslaw Syrek
View gallery - 23 images

KWK Promes was commissioned to create a house in a suburban area of central Poland and given the instruction that it must respond to the sun in some way. The firm came up with a remarkable luxury home centered around a novel moving terrace.

The Quadrant House is almost L-shaped, with the movable terrace traveling automatically between a glass-fronted living room and a spa, extending those spaces and helping to control the light and shade. The video below shows the system in action.

"Depending on the time of the year, it regulates the amount of sunlight in the spaces it adjoins," explains the press release. "In the summer giving the desired shade, and in the winter allowing more sunlight into the interior."

The terrace travels slowly on a rail embedded in the ground using an automated drive with integrated safety sensors, and its movement and speed is adapted to match the sun's movement in the sky. It can also be manually operated and has automatically-adjusting blinds fitted. The system was designed by regular KWK Promes collaborator Comstal.

Quadrant House has a gable roof on the street-facing side to comply with planning requirements, but the garden-facing side is flat, as per the owner's wishes. From the road there are also no visible windows, though generous glazing is installed on the garden-facing side.

Quadrant House's moving terrace runs on a track buried in the ground
Juliusz Sokoàowski

The interior of the home has a total floorspace of 558 sq m (6,000 sq ft), spread over two floors. In addition to the movable terrace, living room and spa, the ground floor features a garage, a kitchen and a dining area. There are three bedrooms upstairs.

KWK Promes is certainly no stranger to producing out-of-the-box ideas and its National Museum in Szczecin and By The Way House are noteworthy too.

Source: KWK Promes

View gallery - 23 images
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4 comments
guzmanchinky
That is very interesting, but seems like overkill, just a little bit?
mediabeing
No, sorry, I don't like that exact design. I'd rather the living room pivot instead of the 'spa'. Having a moving 'spa' suggests the need for complex routing of water and electricity supply. I don't like what that looks like 10 years on. I wonder if one could even get water damage insurance for such a structure.
Username
I'm guessing the novelty will wear off quickly and the section will remain in one location. Also, The front side with no windows looks horrible.
Mediabeing: the spa doesn't move. What moves is an empty extension section between the living room and the spa.
ljaques
I hope they like bugs! That likely added a couple hundred k onto the house's price, for a meager return, IMHO. I'll bet the neighbors in more traditional houses dislike the thing. Why no windows on the one wall? Why do people hire architects, anyway? <sigh>