MUSIC SCHOOL [OSM]

/ 13-12-2002

 

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.

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GREEN TOWERS

/ 12-12-2001

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.

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WĘZEŁ PRZESIADKOWY

/ 11-12-2000

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.

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THESPIAN

/ 10-12-1999

The design had to overcome a number of problems typical of Wrocław in order to architecturally clean up this fragment of the city. We focused on sewing together the junctions of two areas of genotypically different development and, respecting the geometry of the square, signalled a new opening along the city’s most important thoroughfare. In an attempt to compose a contemporary tenement, we accentuated the ground floor with a distinct entrance zone while terracing the building’s finial, making a reference to the circuit of cornices and ridges around the square. The double façade eliminates the nuisance of the busy street while enabling excellent contact with the greenery and the vibrant city, which is almost within arm’s reach.

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V LO

/ 09-12-1998

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.

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NA SKARPIE

/ 08-12-1997

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.

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ENERGETYCZNA 5D

/ 07-12-1996

Due to its relatively small size and the diagonal position of one of the walls, determined by the road planned next to it, the gabled, cuboid building has taken on the characteristic stubby shape. Since there are only six flats inside it, the window openings create a unique composition on the façades. All the flats and the attic with storage units are served by a single staircase. Simple materials were used to finish the building: coarse mineral render, steel sheeting and wooden slats.

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SZKOLNA 6C

/ 06-12-1995

A simple and low-cost residential building commissioned by one of the suburban housing associations. It refers to the typology of single-stairwell, two-storey blocks of flats from the 1950s, which form the walls of the square adjacent to Szkolna Street in Siechnice. The building complements the idea from half a century ago, but does not pretend to date back to that time. It provides simple, inexpensive and therefore affordable housing for 17 families, without unnecessary expenditure on underground car park, costly façades or other gadgets. If we were to call it in one word, it would be “decent.”

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NOWY BROCHÓW

/ 05-12-1994

The overall expression of the building was determined by a desire to complement the existing urban structure with elements of the same scale and similar character. The development in this part of Brochów consists of multi-family houses with simple forms, plastered façades and steep roofs surrounding Plac Mongolski. By adhering to the same urban planning principle, the designed building does not create a dissonance and contributes to the ordering of the existing spatial situation. The simple, modern finishing materials correspond with the textures and colours of the neighbouring older buildings.

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RENOMA

/ 04-12-1993

The main task was to continue Dernburg’s design using a contemporary language of symbols and the characteristic dynamics of the era to balance the scale of the building. The coherence of the old and new parts was achieved through the right proportions, mass reduction, horizontal divisions and the properties of the materials. The dynamism of the unambiguously horizontal façade of the new part was intensified by the fan-like deflection of the cornices. The background, made up of glass and fibre cement panels, corresponds to the ceramics of the historic edifice. The two parts of the building are connected through an entrance atrium.

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