Bookworm Cabin

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used to be an editor of the Architecture & Design section. A blueprint poet.

Meet Bartek and Marta, born and bred in Warsaw. They enjoy their life in the capital, but in their spare time they always do what they can to escape it. What makes them truly happy is going to quiet enclaves, like the one in Italy that they visit every year. “There is nothing there,” says Marta. “A simple hut right on the seashore. Thick walls, cold water, no dishwasher, no heating. Our little son Henryk can play with a stick he uses to draw shapes in the sand or to collect worms with the owner. No distractions whatsoever. Just us and nature. It feels so good, we end up extending our stay every year without fail. Luckily, the owner is happy for us to stay longer.”

Bartek and Marta decided to do something similar in Poland. The couple wanted their own isolated space. Nothing big, just somewhere for a weekend getaway. Who could afford Italy trips all the time? There was only one problem: they had no land. After Henryk was born, it started bothering them even more. The idea slowly started to take shape. They visited their families, did some sightseeing, looked at possible locations. And anyway, Bartek and Marta

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Zygmunt Borawski:

used to be an editor of the Architecture & Design section. A blueprint poet.

Translation: Aga Zano

Publish date: 22.03.2019

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Zygmunt Borawski:

used to be an editor of the Architecture & Design section. A blueprint poet.

Ola and Przemek have a home that is powered only by the sun. They breathe clean air, don’t have to worry about mold, and their energy bills are ridiculously low. This is their story, as told from within the house they had built themselves.

We had an apartment in a building. I had been a bank manager for many years; Przemek had a motorcycle garage, he was previously in the military. Later, I enrolled in cultural studies and took a position as a preschool teacher. We dreamed of having a house. And so we started looking for land. Twice we could have bought a bad plot, but my dad saved us the first time, and my mum, a forester, prevented the second. They noticed something sketchy, and each time they were right. In fact, none of this would’ve been possible if not for my parents. They also contributed to the investment. As luck would have it, we found another spot for sale not far from the others, and it turned out to be perfect. There was no turning back. We sold our apartment and, with great difficulty due to my health problems, got a mortgage. But we made it. We could get started.

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