Dom Kereta, Warszawa

Dom Kereta is a remarkably narrow art installation wedged between a postwar apartment block and a prewar tenement in Wola. Created by Jakub Szczęsny with Centrala, it was made as a habitable workspace for Etgar Keret and has hosted artists from many countries.

Dom Kereta is a dwelling-sized art installation fitted into a gap measuring 152 centimetres between a postwar apartment block at Chłodna 22 and a prewar tenement at Żelazna 74. Follow the steel mesh across the front wall: it protects a structure built on a steel frame, wrapped in polycarbonate, with a glazed roof. Architect Jakub Szczęsny devised it with the Centrala practice, and it opened in 2012.

At its tightest, the house is 92 centimetres wide; at its broadest, it reaches 152 centimetres, earning its reputation as the world’s narrowest house. The name honours Israeli writer and filmmaker Etgar Keret, who became its first resident. Within this slender shell are living space, cooking facilities, washing space, and a sleeping area; a ladder connects levels, while retractable stairs turn into part of the living room when shut.

Although people can live here, Polish regulations prevent it from being treated as a conventional permanent home, so it remains an artwork. The location also speaks to Keret’s Warsaw family: Nazi occupation killed members of both his parents’ families. Artists have continued that connection, with more than forty residents from many countries by 2018.