OFFICE AND SERVICE BUILDING

NA OSTATNIM GROSZU 3

 

Embedded in the chaotic fabric of this part of the city, the building was primarily intended to clearly separate the most important components of the newly constructed service complex. The simple form, classical divisions and muted colours bind the whole together, while the limited means of expression, repetition and modularity convey information about the functional programme. All this has been done so as not to divert attention away from the new spatial relationships and allow local residents to become familiar with them. Time will tell whether a bustling piece of the city can be created in the vastness of this mono-functional residential district.

 

NOWY TARG

Nowy Targ is a new experience of a building on the scale of an urban quarter. In it, we looked for metropolitan architecture with good proportions and sustainable materials. In an attempt to depart from introverted structures, we planned a bustling ground floor with service outlets accessible directly from the street. Rhythmic façades with distinctive courtyard cuts added dynamism to the body of the building and broke up the monumental scale. Façade elements were differentiated according to their compositional role and grained. We believe that it is possible to build offices that contribute to the renaissance of the street and counteract the functional monoculture in city centres.

GREEN 2DAY

“Edifice” was the key word, and the proximity of Ostrów paved the way for formal experiments. Feelings of permanence, quality and timelessness were important. Hence the transposition of the motif of wall with openings and reference to the residential texture of the frontage. In place of the one-dimensional façade, the starting motif became the window with its attributes: reveals, glyphs and chiaroscuro, geometrised and multiplied to achieve the intended effects.

It is satisfying to see that a banal set of offices gave rise to a piece of the city with a completely new morphology, which can now be filled with dense life.

GREEN DAY

“Edifice” was the key word, and the proximity of Ostrów paved the way for formal experiments. Feelings of permanence, quality and timelessness were important. Hence the transposition of the motif of wall with openings and reference to the residential texture of the frontage. In place of the one-dimensional façade, the starting motif became the window with its attributes: reveals, glyphs and chiaroscuro, geometrised and multiplied to achieve the intended effects.

It is satisfying to see that a banal set of offices gave rise to a piece of the city with a completely new morphology, which can now be filled with dense life.

DUBOIS 41

We were yet again faced with the task of designing onto urban fabric that once existed here. Two blocks were separated by an extension of Dubois Street. The first one was given the form of a solid residential block with floors shifted with respect to each other, which visually conceals the actual mass of the building. The other one is a coherent urban complement with an internal pedestrian street. They share a single entrance gate and courtyard raised to the +1 level, with a reinforced concrete terrace overhanging the river. All this to achieve clear spatial zoning with perimeter development. This project is about contemporary urban density.

ZITA

The building, part of Promenady Wrocławskie housing estate, has the structure of an urban quarter and two dominant features. The façade composition is based on a rigorous arrangement of rectangular openings that reflect the modular functional layout. The grey ceramic cladding on the façade highlights the consistency of the design. The minimalist character of the interiors is enhanced by the clear separation of the office premises with cubicles along the middle passageway, and aesthetically – by the application of a limited range of solutions throughout the building and selection of finishing materials in line with the industrial character of the complex.

 

STC

The STC building consists of a base with the height of the surrounding development and a dominant feature for which no restrictions were imposed by the plans. The tower section accentuates the opening in the corridor of Piłsudskiego Street and signals the presence of the railway station forecourt. The body was divided into modules, slightly twisted in relation to the vertical axis in order to obtain a dynamic that strengthens the impression of slenderness. This solution improved the daylight illumination of the neighbouring buildings.

The STC building contains a set of services reviving this part of the hitherto infamous Przedmieście Oławskie district and represents another step towards its revitalisation.

GREEN TOWERS

An analysis of the surrounding development showed the predominance of long and tall cuboid buildings. The layout of the complex was therefore determined by a desire to provide ample daylight and optimum relationship with the surroundings. The twin office towers, more than 30 metres high, fit into the context of Strzegomska Street and supplement the completely new, post-war morphology of this part of the city. A square was designed between the buildings, which partially descends below ground level to let light to the basement. The op-art composition of the façades and the atrium floor add dynamism to the complex, breaking the monotony of the office function.

CENTREVILLE Drobnera Wrocław

 

The building fills in the quarter bounded by Drobnera and Śrutowa Streets, directly adjacent to a 19th century tenement house with rich eclectic decor. This part of the city centre is heavily invested, has a clear urban structure with defined quarters of streets and squares. Centreville complements the historical frontage of Drobnera Street, crucial for the Nadodrze district. As in the case of the neighboring building, the corner of Drobnera and Śrutowa Streets is accented with a flanking accent. Two last storeys have been withdrawn and free space has been assigned for residents’ view terraces.

On the most exposed elevations, solid brick was used, a material with both functional (resistance to urban conditions and passage of time) and decorative qualities, characteristic for this part of the city. The elevation glitters with several shades of browns and grays.  The composition is complemented by large wooden windows and aluminum bands around them. It is important for contemporary buildings to fit into the urban tissue without ostentation and pretension to dominate.