Gryf Villa in Konstancin-Jeziorna

COMPLETION DATE: 2018—2020
LOCATION: POLAND

Gryf Villa in Konstancin-Jeziorna was built around 1905 as a residential building for Władysław Czosnowski. In the same year it was bought by Józefa Jaxa-Bąkowska née Cybulska and became a guest house hosting many writers, publicists and social activists. The villa was bought in 1926 and has changed owners several times since then. In later years, it became part of the Treasury and until the 1980s it housed an orphanage.

Currently, it has been intended for public utility purposes and is to serve as a socio-cultural center. The works carried out by us was aimed at adapting the facility to new functions, such as: a library, a resident’s club, an community centre for the needs of the commune’s inhabitants, as well as the office, administrative and social facilities of the above-mentioned main functions. Due to the new role of the facility, it required renovation and thorough reconstruction.

Construction and renovation works covered the entire building – from basements up to the roof. We have liquidated the existing outbuilding and in its place we have made a new building included in the building volume in a form reminiscent of the two-story veranda, originally located in this place.

We have also renovated and reconstructed damaged architectural details and decorative facade elements. Moreover, we have dismantled the wooden balconies, which were in very poor condition and we recreated them again. The area around the villa also required revitalization. The elements that required renovation included among others: fencing, entrance to the plot or external electrical and lighting installation.

Inside, we have demolished the interior partition walls in order to adapt the room layout to new functions. We have removed the old wooden staircase and replaced it with a new reinforced concrete, adapted to current fire regulations. The wooden attic walls and the wooden ceiling above the attic have been dismantled and reconstructed with the adaptation to the new function. At the same time, we have renovated and reconstructed the roof of the building. All installations have been also executed again.

Currently, “Gryf” Villa is again vibrant and invites residents to use its new features.

We put our heart in stone.