The Multi-Volume House in the Forest – architectural photography shoot
In 2023, the architectural practice PL.architekci invited me to photograph one of their latest projects, the single-family Multi-Volume House. The building is located at the edge of a national park in western Poland, within a dense pine forest. From the very beginning, it was clear that the key design intention was to preserve as many existing trees as possible and to integrate the architecture discreetly into the natural landscape. The commission involved a complete photographic report, including architectural photography taken at different times of day and night, interior photography, and drone images. My main goal was to present the house as a composition of smaller, interconnected volumes that do not dominate their surroundings. The fragmented form, made up of several modules with independent, asymmetrical gable roofs, visually reduces the scale of the building and allows it to blend more naturally into the forest environment.
Architecture, light, and a relationship with nature
Each volume features its own roof skylight, which brings natural light deep into the interiors. As a result, even the dense pine canopies do not limit daylight inside the house. While photographing the project, I focused on capturing the changing light conditions and the play of shadows cast by the surrounding trees, which continuously transform the perception of the architecture throughout the day.
Another important element of the project is the façade, finished with specially designed concrete tiles with a rough texture, arranged like overlapping scales. This material performs well in the humid forest climate and creates a subtle backdrop for the greenery around the building. Semi-open courtyards formed between the volumes provide intimacy while maintaining a constant connection with nature. In the interior photographs, I aimed to show how contemporary architecture coexists with the residents’ personal stories, artworks, and objects of sentimental value.
The project attracted significant attention within the architectural community and was published, among others, in the magazine WhiteMAD. For me, this project was another opportunity to tell a story about architecture that does not dominate the landscape, but instead becomes an integral part of it, and to show how architectural photography can support this narrative.