Green-roof house becomes one with the landscape

Some homes blend into the landscape—others become part of the land itself, like this modern house in Poland. Warsaw-based firm Mobius Architects embraced the natural topography of the land when designing the house; instead of leveling the plot, they nestled the house into a sharp hill, even going as far as transforming part of the roof into a grass-topped peak.

Paweł Ulatowski

The house bends into an C-shape as the first floor lays flush with the lowest part of the plot, while the green roof angles into a gabled form atop the hill. A grass-covered concrete slab extends from the upper level, connecting all of the home’s sides and creating the effect of a sunken courtyard with a patio and lawn encased by windows.

Paweł Ulatowski

An illuminated concrete stairway in the central courtyard climbs up the hill and leads to the green roof, which looks like a lovely place to take an evening stroll. The stairs are also a shortcut to the second story of the house—a clever architectural trick that reminds us the house bends to the will of the land, not the other way around.

Paweł Ulatowski