A drawbridge provides access to this angular house perched on a hillside in southern Poland, which architect Robert Konieczny designed to close up completely when not in use.

This corner incorporates a drawbridge which, along with a sliding wall, can completely conceal the full-height windows and narrow deck along this side of the building.
The use of the drawbridge and sliding panels to ensure maximum security recalls Konieczny's design for a fortress-like property near Warsaw called the Safe House.

"To give rigidity to the building, the walls were tensed by the planes of the 'inverted' roof, which is slightly raised above the ground," explained Konieczny. "Their incline increased the feeling of security. We basically created a house with two roofs that protect it from water, and so it began to resemble an ark floating over the fields."

Spray-on insulating foam was applied to all the internal surfaces to ensure the interior remains warm. The material is left exposed in some of the rooms to add a tactile quality to walls and ceilings.
The house's position within a large pasture led the architect to minimise any landscaping that would disrupt the grazing of farm animals, which are able to use the building for shelter from the weather.
...