Skip to main content

Konieczny’s Safe House is All of Your Childhood Fort Dreams Come True

If 10-year-old you could design a fort to live in, it would probably include a moat, a drawbridge, a movie theater, and impenetrable walls (to keep the girl cooties out). Well say hello to Safe House — architect Robert Konieczny’s shape-shifting, one-of-a-kind creation that is both welcoming and intimidating.

Recommended Videos

Located just outside of Warsaw, Safe House was created to give the owners a sense of security in an uncertain world. Surprisingly, Konieczny looked to nature for inspiration on creating a fortress that needed to feel like a home. In the same way a tulip opens in the morning and closes at night, the home transforms depending on the time of day. When the sun is out, the massive doors and walls open to reveal a beautiful glass and concrete minimalist masterpiece. At night, Safe House lives up to its name and closes into a solid, imposing, dark gray square block. Along with providing the ultimate in security, this opening and closing ensures high energy efficiency — soaking up the heat of the sun during the day and sealing it in at night.

A sparse, minimalist interior allows the view of the surrounding landscape to be the star when the house is open.

The fact that the home transforms is impressive enough, but the list of features is what really sends it over the top. There is an indoor pool that looks out onto the lawn. Always with safety in mind, the pool house has secured entry — it is only accessible from a glass walkway attached to the main building.

Safe House by Robert Konieczny KWK Promes

The roof of the poolhouse is a terrace that can be accessed by a retractable drawbridge (yes, this house has a drawbridge!) The rear of the home is all glass to allow for enjoying the views of the serene backyard during the day. At night, a two-story, garage-style door rolls down and, with the setup of a projector on the lawn, becomes a giant movie screen.

Of course, a home that seals up tight, with no view to the outside world at night may not be for everyone, but the little kid in us could totally get down with the fort concept.

Kelsey Machado
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kelsey is a professional interior designer with over a decade of experience in the design field. With a passion for…
Learn how to smoke a pipe the proper way with our guide for beginners
Let us show you the classy way to smoke a pipe
Packing a pipe

Pipe smoking is the most aesthetically distinguished way to enjoy tobacco, but you lose the classy effect if you don’t know how to smoke a pipe properly. Smoking a pipe has become a lost art, and these days, most people who engage in pipe smoking do so to achieve a sense of nostalgia. Perhaps your grandfather enjoyed a puff now and again paired with a good stiff whiskey, or maybe your goal is to emulate a pipe-smoking artist.

I know that I enjoy a good puff on a pipe now and then, and knowing the right way to enjoy a pipe has made the experience much more pleasurable for for me. Whatever the case, if you intend to take up the time-honored tradition of unwinding with a pipe like me, you should learn how to smoke a pipe the right way. And smoking a pipe is very different than smoking a cigar (except you shouldn't be inhaling either).

Read more
Don’t ruin your cigars: here’s how to properly season a new humidor
Seasoning secrets every cigar lover could use
faceless man presenting a cigar humidor with cigars inside with gloved hands

If you're a newcomer to the world of cigars or just bought a brand-new humidor, you'll need to season it. And no, I'm not saying to add salt and pepper to it. If you've never heard of it, you might ask, "What is seasoning for a humidor?"

Don't think you need to flavor the box or anything — seasoning is really about getting the wood inside your humidor so as not to rob your cigars of precious moisture. Easy to understand, and getting it done is relatively straightforward as well. The trick is figuring out the "why," and we'll get into that in a bit. But let's first discuss seasoning a humidor.

Read more
The NBA’s ultimate celebration tool: The victory cigar
A look at the players and coaches who smoke to celebrate
Jordan smoking a cigar image on a bag

Sports are synonymous with celebration. After winning the biggest trophy of their lives, athletes want to indulge in the payoff that comes with seeing their dreams realized. Teams go into the locker room, where a waterfall of champagne hits them in the eyes, and swimming goggles seem to be a requirement, lest you walk around on the best night of your life half blind. While drinking is often the activity of choice after winning a championship, the NBA has an alternative symbol of greatness that other sports don't use nearly enough: the victory cigar.

Basketball is a team game, but it's also an individual canvas for solo superstardom. After winning an NBA championship, the coaches and players who sit atop the throne have long smoked a cigar in the locker room, during the parade, or even on the bench before the clock has hit zero. There's nothing quite like a good stogie to signify the ultimate win over the rest of the league, but how did the victory cigar get so ingrained in NBA championship celebrations? We want to take a walk down memory lane and look at some of the historical moments and people who made the cigar what it is within the NBA today.
Red Auerbach's victory cigar on the bench
Red Auerbach: The Story Behind the Victory Cigar + His Disdain of NBA Officials - Red on Roundball

Read more