Tamizo Architects have realised a broad variety of projects: they frequently design one-family houses and interiors, but they have also worked on urban projects or everyday objects. They have also participated in big competitions for public facilities (including contest for the edifice of Museum of Modern Art and Polish History Museum in Warsaw, the headquarters of Specjalna Strefa Sztuki in Łódź or the library of Białystok University of Technology.
Regardless whether the architects are designing a luxurious villa or a large public facility, they create austere and simple buildings whose valour lies in the play of forms, textures, and, occasionally, colours – however, adornments or elements from the past epochs won’t be found. Designing as such is always preceded by careful analysis of the context – the character of the place as such, the neighbouring buildings, the type of the urban zone. The final structure takes into account all of these elements.
Sometimes their constructions are somewhat resemblant of traditional forms – for example, Y-House in Pabianice, covered with a gable roof, brings a typical stable to mind. However, the house looks modern thanks to the ceramic covering of the elevation and concrete roof tiles. Where context allows, the architects exploit even more unconventional forms. M-House in Konstancin-Jeziorna near Warsaw consists of two simple blocks. One is placed not directly on top of the other, but slightly moved to the side. The lower one is black, the upper – white, and it is this stark contrast that serves as the characteristic element of the construction, otherwise bereft of ornaments. Similarly to Swiss or Japenese architects represting minimalism, the designers working in Tamizo know well that this style requires consistency and discipline and that its strength lies in composition, materials, textures and colours. Minimalism is difficult because it doesn’t employ layers of ornaments that could cover hypothetical mistakes. Mateusz Stolarki’s team carefully chooses the materials, as they frequently make up a large part of the building’s character. For instance, the exterior walls of E-House in Rosanów are covered with perforated sheet metal, the elevation of a police station was to be covered in half-transparent membrane and one of the designs of a private house in Warsaw exploits the contrast between concrete and shining glass. The architects apply the same rules when they design interiors – they tend to be similarly austere, yet highly functional.
Originally written by Anna Cymer, April 2017, translated by NS, May 2017.