Yaw The House That Turns Toward the Sun

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Yaw: The House That Turns Toward the Sun

Perched on a sloping site in Poland's Beskid Mountains, Yaw House takes its name from the aeronautical term "yaw"—a slight rotation on its vertical axis. Rather than fighting the terrain, the architects at KWK Promes (led by Robert Konieczny) allowed the topography to shape the building. The ground floor (582 m²) embeds into the hill, with the north side buried for privacy and protection, while the south side opens completely to capture sunlight and panoramic mountain views. The smaller first floor (207 m²) pivots slightly, aligning every window to frame specific ridgelines and block neighboring houses. A 141.5 m² pool sits flush with the interior floor, using a disappearing glass wall to merge indoor and outdoor space seamlessly. Finished in fair-faced concrete with board-formed texture and polished screed floors, the house avoids ornament entirely. The takeaway is clear: on a difficult site, strong design comes not from adding decoration, but from aligning the sun, the slope, and the line of sight.

Architects: KWK Promes, Robert Konieczny
Year: 2025
Photographs: Jakub Certowicz
Site Area: 4870 m2
Gross Covered Area: 1354 m2
Ground Floor: 581,7 m2
First Floor: 206,7 m2
Pool: 141,5 m2
Volume: 3095 m3
Location: Poland