The "Arizona" villa from 1936 is back in the game. How Bernatowicz Architektura reclaimed pre-war elegance in the heart of Zakopane

A heritage building that was never highlander in style

The design premise was clear: not to feign the Zakopane style where it had never existed. The "Arizona" was built at a moment when Zakopane's architecture was stretched between the Zakopane style of Stanisław Witkiewicz and an eclectic current of a more classical character — and it belonged to the latter. The studio chose to restore the building's original character and rebuild the atmosphere of interwar Zakopane — the town of Witkacy, Malczewski, and Zofia and Karol Stryjeński. "The property took on the character of a mountain villa in its interiors, but not a highlander one", reads the project description on the studio's website. This distinction is crucial here: the architecture refers to the history of a specific house, not to the folklore of the region. As the architect himself puts it, the villa "serves as a reminder of how the architecture of Zakopane developed at the beginning of the twentieth century".

What the renovation revealed

The renovation process revealed layers that had been covered for decades. After the 1970s panelling was removed, the original brick walls came to light, along with wooden windows that had earlier been boxed in. A historic roof truss was also uncovered, with impressive cross-sections of its structural members — once bearing heavy ceramic roof tiles — which was valued for the quality of its workmanship and joints and incorporated into the décor as a display element. The juxtaposition of raw, historic fabric with new, precisely finished surfaces builds a clear contrast: the guest immediately recognises that they are in an adapted heritage building, restored to the character of a luxury villa "in a more modern rendition", rather than in a styling built from scratch.

Materials — the region meets luxury

The material palette combines the region's tradition with luxury befitting the building's class. Wood and stone — materials native to the Podhale region — meet marble and subtle inlays of gold and copper, introducing a note of stateliness fitting the classicising form. It is a deliberate decision: since the building is more classical than regional, the regional material collides here with the palatial one. The walls are finished in coarsely woven natural wool, which warms the interiors both literally and visually. At the heart of the common areas is a double-sided glazed fireplace with a live fire, set into a wall of granite stones hewn and laid by local stonemasons — a detail that ties the project to regional craft and one that cannot be quickly reproduced in a mass-produced product.

Common areas as a story

Bernatowicz Architektura treated the common areas as a stage set. The social life of interwar artists — salons, anecdotes, scandals, events — became the canvas for arranging the shared spaces. From the rooms on the first floor, through an opening in the ceiling above the hall, one can "peek" at the storey below; guests have at their disposal a library devoted to the culture and social life of early twentieth-century Zakopane. The common areas open directly onto a garden with features for relaxation and a view of the Tatras, and onto an extensive spa zone. This is the design not of a single interior, but of a narrative of place — something the guest will not find in a standard investment apartment.

Why this works for the property's value

In Zakopane this is not a neutral aesthetic choice — it is a positioning choice. The primary market in the town is among the most expensive in Poland: prices of apartments in the premium segment today reach from around 30,000 to over 40,000 PLN/m², while the dominant product remains the condo and aparthotel with a rental operator, extensive amenities and — increasingly often — a repetitive, "mountain" styling. In this environment, the advantage becomes what the competition lacks: an authentic heritage building from 1936, the history of the place and detail that cannot be copied. The exposed roof truss, the stone fireplace by a local stonemason and the interwar narrative are arguments that raise the property's perceived value and justify its price — both in sale and in short-term rental, where the guest's choice is decided by distinctiveness rather than yet another "apartment with a view".

The project is proof that premium in the Podhale region need not mean replicating highlander aesthetics. It shows the architect as a reader of a specific place: instead of imposing a fashionable language on the building, Bernatowicz Architektura read its own genealogy — unusual for Zakopane — and consistently reinforced it. For owners of properties with a historic pedigree, this is a model of working with heritage in which value arises not from erasing the past, but from revealing it.