Designed by 77 Studio, the “House in the Slope” is a single-family home quietly embedded into a riverside embankment along Poland’s Vistula River. With its sunken form, corten steel facade, and green roof, the house preserves the natural topography and prioritizes privacy, quiet, and views, all while maintaining minimal visual impact on its surroundings.
Perched on a ledge overlooking the Vistula, Poland’s longest river, the home is built on the owner’s favorite viewpoint, a spot known for its layered views of riverside vegetation, distant city skyline, and the ever-changing river below. The site’s natural drama and openness were key to shaping the final design.
Rather than follow the site boundaries, the house was rotated to align with the best sightlines across the river. This orientation informed the entire structure, allowing wide, unobstructed views from nearly every room. Much of the home is embedded into the slope, which lets it visually disappear into the landscape while maintaining thermal efficiency and privacy.
The entrance to the home is cut into the slope like a subtle steel-lined ravine. This sunken driveway leads to a small, recessed patio and front door, designed to keep the view concealed until entry. The use of corten steel along the driveway and facade gives the entrance a grounded, weathered character that blends with the terrain.
To avoid disrupting the natural meadow above, the entire home is covered by a planted green roof using species native to the riverbank. From above, the house is nearly invisible. This softens the home’s visual impact, protects local sightlines, and reinforces the idea that the house is part of the slope, not separate from it.
Large openings frame specific views of the river, slope, and vegetation. The 12-meter-wide sliding door in the living area allows the entire southeast wall to open up to the outdoors. Smaller courtyards and patios cut into the slope bring in daylight and glimpses of greenery, allowing for natural lighting and ventilation without sacrificing the home’s discreet profile.
The terrace extends directly from the main living space and faces the river. It’s positioned for sunlight and views without elevation, continuing the natural incline of the site. It acts as a threshold between interior and landscape, not a platform above it, but a surface within it.
A discreet set of stairs leads up to the rooftop, inviting residents to fully experience the green roof as an extension of the landscape. From this elevated perch, the views of the Vistula River and surrounding vegetation unfold in full. The transition feels natural, not like climbing to a roof, but walking up through the slope itself.
The House in the Slope shows how architecture can disappear in plain sight. By embedding itself into the terrain, aligning with natural contours, and preserving the wild character of the land, 77 Studio created a home that doesn’t dominate the view, it defers to it.