School and Kindergarten Complex Cynamonowa Street Wrocław

ŁASZTOWNIA – NEW HEART OF THE CITY

VOTIVE CHAPEL

The chapel was created as a votive offering for the construction of the motorway bypass. We tried to transpose the traditional model of the sacred into contemporary forms and meanings, keeping the interesting interaction with the motorway. We outlined arbitrary space limits using the EPCH 420 energy-absorbing barriers that form five offset rings around the sacred centre. Most of the elements used in the construction had been recycled. The site is completely open and accessible. Perhaps the roadside chapel with an intriguing geometry, seemingly abandoned amongst flowery meadows, will prompt somebody to meditate on the transience of life?

HISTORY CENTER ZAJEZDNIA

 

The entire functional structure of the adapted depot was subordinated to the target model, in which the two free-standing buildings function as a single complex and the main entrance is located along the axis of the multifunctional square gently descending below ground level. Thanks to this model it was possible to preserve the spatial autonomy of the depot and restore its architectural shell back to its glory, with only discreet signals of a change of use. The museum is an opportunity for the entire district, creating a new public space and building the identity of this previously industrial part of the city.

PODWALE 61

An essential component of our work in architecture is experience. It provides us with invaluable knowledge needed to discuss the contemporary urban biotope. Instead of resorting to fashionable newspeak, we prefer to observe real processes of rehabilitation of places and communities. To rejoice when our courtyard, restored through joint work and equipped with new urban furniture, integrates people, and to grieve and doubt when we find the terrace in disarray on a Monday morning. We believe, however, that this coexistence brings us closer to understanding the phenomenon of the modern city.

 

KINDERGARTEN RECONSTRUCTION

It happened fast: the city’s far-sighted decision to hand the site over to the Chamber of Architects, EU grants, a quick reconstruction project and construction within five months. There were more questions than answers: about the precise location, details, colour. Laborious work with a conservation officer brought a reward – the discovery of an original paddling pool.

And thus a new home of architecture was created – a permanent address that is an integral part of the local government’s raison d’être. And with it, activities: meetings, lectures, workshops and youth exhibitions. But that’s another story altogether.

MUSIC SCHOOL [OSM]

 

The size of the plot, its exposure to sunlight and acoustics all added up to create a homogenous block with a courtyard. The compact layout imposed a disciplined division into functions with an acoustic buffer from the street. The main body is made up of autonomous “boxes” of rooms finished with acoustic systems that attenuate or amplify individual sound bands.

Piłsudskiego is a unique street, along which frontages of monumental edifices blend in with each other. We tried to continue this idea by using the school to “patch” a gap in this line.

WĘZEŁ PRZESIADKOWY

We usually work in a context, but this time there was none. What therefore proved crucial was the decision about the asymmetrical roof, subordinated to the logic of the streams of commuters, and the need to intuitively redirect fans headed to the stadium esplanade. We wrapped the non-parallel, intersecting lines inspired by the multiple directions of roads, tracks and paths in a form that counterbalanced the gentle curves of the stadium. The whole is dressed in a brutalist suit of reinforced concrete complemented by galvanised steel.

People sometimes feel the need to fly a kite. So did we, but ours was made of concrete.

V LO

The school’s location in the park determined our priority: to save as many trees as possible. We accomplished this by inscribing the plan onto the foundations of previously existing facilities and insisting on a pitch on the roof. The result was a typologically simple school organised along a hall that provides a buffer against noise from a busy road. The classrooms received the quietness of a park, while the overhanging lab cubes with natural light from above make the façade composition more dynamic. All decisions were simple and radical. We were pleased that they could still be implemented ten years after winning the competition.

NA SKARPIE

This is a simple sports hall funded with public money, without extravagances of design, form or material. Nonetheless, it leaves a distinctive mark on the space. The surroundings made a considerable contribution to the character of the interiors. Discreet openings in the façades provide a link between these two worlds in precisely chosen locations. They shatter the banality of the typically run-of-the-mill form and consistently affect the atmosphere of the hollow monolith. Today we know that the building has been accepted by the local community, strengthening their identity in duet with the club colours.