In a thick forest just outside of Warsaw, a mysterious cube house will soon float above the forest floor. This imaginative, illusionary home is the work of Marcin Tomaszewski, founder of the Polish firm Reform Architekt. The Izablin House is a two story mirror house concept that is surrounded by reflective surfaces on its bottom floor. The second floor appears to float above its mirrored base, a levitating box that will hover in the Polish forest.
The mirror house is a magical concept of modern architecture. Its design is sharp and straightforward, the intersection of two rectangular forms that house shared and private spaces. What makes the mirror house special is its material embellishment, the reflective metal that encircles most of its bottom level.
Approach the mirror house from one side, and all you’ll see is the floating box above — and your own reflection, of course. Approach the home from another, and you’ll see a garage, a primary entrance and a few other features that expose the structure as a home. But the goal of the mirror house is not just to act as an illusion to passer’s by, but to reflect the image of the forest back into itself. As a result, the home appears to be dressed by the scenery of the forest itself.
Marcin Tomaszewski’s new home concept is still just that — a concept. These are not finished images by an architectural photographer, they’re CGI renderings of the design concept. With that, we should reserve judgment until we see just how natural and compelling the mirrored visuals are. In the mean time, however, we can celebrate the inspiration of Mr. Tomaszewski. And point you in the direction of other mirror-clad architecture, of course:
- The amazing Mirror Art Studio in the forest by Bureau Lada
- The floating mirror cube Treehotel in Sweden
- If you’re just partial to forest architecture, don’t miss this list
View in gallery
View in gallery
View in gallery
Mirror House by Reform Architekt – Izablin House Gallery
Stunning, but how do you prevent birds flying into the house and being killed? Or are there no birds in this forest?