Crooked house (Krzywy Domek) in Sopot, Poland: photo, description, architecture, interior
Sopot is known throughout the world as a city where music festivals of the socialist countries were held, participation in which was considered very prestigious. But not only this is famous for the seaport and resort town: it is the only building of its kind among 50 other unusual fellows of the world, which can be called a creation of surrealism from architecture – a crooked house that strikes the imagination of everyone who sees it for the first time.
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The history of the creation of the house
Young Polish architects Zalevsky and Shotinsky in 2001 decided to build an original house in Sopot, they asked the Swedish photographer Dahlberg, a well-known author of avant-garde works, to make a sketch. The sketch was based on fairy-tale illustrations by the Polish artist Szanzer, who is very popular in publishing circles.
Thus, a sketch was drawn up, combining modernist deconstructivism and fabulous archaism. The architects decided to bring a fantastic project to life and were extremely successful in its implementation: in 2004, an amazing building grew up on Monte Cassino Geroev Street, which immediately after the grand opening was dubbed the Crooked House.
House construction
This name is quite fair, because from the outside all the details of the house are curved: walls, windows, cornices, roof, doors are curved so that it resembles an object of an animated or fairy-tale film. When looking at it, there is also an association with the drawing of a talented child who cannot yet draw straight lines, but is already striving to draw something big and grandiose. Or it seems that the house is crouched and twisted from gravity, or simply reflected in a huge distorted mirror.
Whatever the individual idea of everyone who sees this unique masterpiece of housing construction, in any case, the latter is the fruit of the bold artistic imagination of innovative architects and the virtuoso skill of the builders who brought the original idea of the designers to life.
Where is
The unique building is located in the city center, occupies 4000 sq.m., which houses shops, offices of companies, radio stations, a slot machine hall and a restaurant. In fact, this is the business and entertainment center "Resident", where numerous tourists who have heard about the famous sights of the resort tend to get there.
Pedestrian Monciak Street (as Geroev Street is commonly called) during the tourist season is packed with people who want to feel the real Polish flavor and admire not only the exclusive house, but also the surrounding landscapes. Probably, each of those who have been here left a photo against the backdrop of an architectural miracle and bought a souvenir with its image.
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Architecture of the Crooked House
The house has 2 floors and a mansard roof, two facade walls and a glass entrance portal just make up the picture of curvature; the other two rear walls are made in a standard straight form. At first glance, it seems that the house is built from some super new materials. It is hard to believe that such a fantastic building can be created from ordinary sandstone, metal and glass, although, in fact, this is true: no special, previously unknown building materials were used.
With external apparent instability, the crooked house keeps firmly “on its feet” and is not going to fall, because the walls are made of durable material and rest on a powerful foundation. External curves do not affect stability in any way, and this also adds mystery and paradox to the unusual facade.
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Building exterior
The showcase windows on the 1st floor are huge and made of colored glass, enhancing the effect of fabulousness. Looking at them, one involuntarily thinks about how difficult it was to create window openings of such shapes and one involuntarily admires the skill and skill of those who worked on the implementation of a fantastic idea. The windows on the second floor are smaller but no less ornate, also made of colored glass that sparkles with iridescent hues in the light of street lamps at night and plays with multi-colored sparks in the sun glare during the day.
The central entrance of the building deserves special attention: wide glass doors are located under a glass stained glass span, the edges of which connect the walls of the house, and the bottom is crowned with a wide stainless steel strip with the inscription "Crooked House" in Polish. At the top, the span passes into the broken asymmetry of the roof, wedging with a glass flap into the “scales” of enameled metal tiles that cover the house.
Such a scaly shiny coating was not chosen by chance: it is designed to enhance the fabulous motifs of the building by analogy with the skin of a crocodile or fish. A bronze statue of a fisherman with a net in one hand and a fish in the other perfectly serves as a thematic addition. His athletic muscular figure, set on the side of a glass aisle, is a symbol of the fact that Sopot is a seaside town, whose daily life is closely connected with the sea. At night, the curved illuminated walls are a truly fabulous sight.
Internal interiors
Despite the fact that outside there is not a single right angle, inside there is nothing reminiscent of curvature: everywhere there are even, smooth walls painted in light shades. The original design of the hall, sustained in warm sandy colors, attracts attention: an unusual configuration of ceilings, a massive staircase with a handrail in a modernist space style and an elegant fence made of metal rods.
Modernism and conservatism coexist perfectly in the design: next to the stairs on the walls there are old-style lanterns a la the 18th century. The enfilade of office premises located here is separated from the common corridor by modern arched vaults and light glass partitions. Thanks to the presence of panoramic windows, an abundance of ceiling and side lamps, the house is full of light inside both day and night.
There is a Wall of Glory in it, on which famous visitors and mere mortals leave their wishes and share their impressions.