In the competition for the development of an urban-architectural concept for a part of the center of Mysłowice, decided on November 15, the jury chaired by Jacek Krych awarded three equal prizes, one of which went to a team created from the combined forces of two architectural offices - Miastopracownia and Pronobis Studio. They called their concept, in which water is the main character, #citypractice.
development project for the center of Mysłowice
© Miastopracownia, Pronobis Studio
The award, as we read in the justification of the jury, was given for pro-ecological solutions using rainwater and linking ecology with urban planning. This is because the authors of the project proposed both urban planning and architectural solutions retaining rainwater and putting it into closed economic circuits, while the new buildings were designed in a wooden structure (using such elements as photovoltaic panels, heat pumps, rainwater harvesting system and green roofs) and according to the principles of universal design - adjusting them to the needs of people with different levels of fitness.
what should a crisis-proof city look like?
The team consisting of: Dominika Wilczynska, Barbara Nawrocka, Sylwia Widzisz-Pronobis, Grzegorz Pronobis, Anna Kurianowicz, Jan Nagel and Karolina Stachura, in cooperation with Kacper Radziszewski of Designbiotic, who is responsible for water analysis, tried through their project to answer extremely important questions - what should a crisis-proof city look like? How to build new downtowns in an era of climate change? How to develop the city based on the latest knowledge?
land use plan
© Miastopracownia, Pronobis Studio
In the project, we create a compact development of a vibrant center, friendly to people moving around the city through the power of their muscles. There are a number of solutions for pedestrians, cyclists, the elderly and those with disabilities," the project's authors explain. - Greenery, thanks to additions, creates not only walking routes, but also coherently connects successive recreational spaces. The sequence of the city's most important squares and the interiors of the quarters are greened, creating not only green public spaces, but also intimate and arranged semi-public and semi-private courtyards. Based on water flow analyses, further semi-permeable retention basins were delineated - anti-flood systems embedded in the green recreational function, they add.
Mysłowice market square
© Miastopracownia, Pronobis Studio
Thus, the designers introduced new development, closing quarters where possible while creating a clear composition and introducing new functions attractive to investors. In addition to the new office buildings, they proposed the creation of the Mysłowice Centrum train station with parking lots, which together would create a convenient transfer point and a coherent transportation system. The city center in the city-absorbing project would be given over mainly to pedestrians, for whom, among other things, woonerfs and a new market hall would be created.
Prototyping functions and solids
The team's idea of phasing the work is interesting; they opted for temporary, modular blocks, whose task would be to test the proposed architectural solutions before their permanent introduction.
The temporary development, in the form of modules, located at the market, is a prototype not only of the target frontage. The structure is also a prototype of the functions that the target buildings will perform in the city. The multifunctional cultural-business-commercial-gastronomic center is a harbinger and tester of the functions of the scenario involving the next stages of the new development, the designers explain.
temporary construction
© Miastopracownia, Pronobis Studio
The temporary constructions would not only test the validity of creating a permanent development, but thanks to the materials used and the modular grid, they could also be used for the construction of the target commercial buildings. The new development would also relate to the rhythms of the existing historic facades of the buildings located at the market.
The economic model for temporary housing as a city investment is conceived as a special kind of public-private partnership, the architects explain. - The city can initiate the process of erecting containers - modules and make them available to tenants in exchange for a low rent and a declaration to finish the boxes according to a top-down plan that is consistent for the whole. Architecturally and functionally. The multiplicity of functions and the diversity of the program on a yearly basis will allow this space to be revitalized already at the level of temporary development. This will increase the interest of potential investors and build the attachment of residents to the place. This not only introduces attractive functions and attracts users and customers with them. At the same time, cultural and social functions are attractors for residents of all ages. This integrates residents on an intergenerational basis," add the authors of the awarded concept.
target condition
© Miastopracownia, Pronobis Studio
The integration and involvement of residents is to be fostered, among other things, by the community gardens envisaged in the project, where everyone would be able to produce food that would be watered with previously collected rainwater.
MAINTAIN
The entire area covered by the study was analyzed in terms of the direction of rainwater runoff, and the conclusions of these analyses determined the introduced solutions aimed at more efficient management of water in the city, also, as the authors of the project emphasize, in the context of safety from the negative effects of climate change, including alternating heat waves and torrential rains.
water analysis of the center of Mysłowice
© Miastopracownia, Pronobis Studio
Taking advantage of existing terrain differences, green areas (in the form of rain gardens, dry streams, a pond) are designed in appropriate places for rainwater retention. In addition, rainwater is also appropriately channeled on the roofs of new buildings and collected for watering community gardens, for example. An example of rainwater harvesting technology is the "inverted umbrellas" over the marketplace. An airtight reservoir is also being designed inside a quarter of a new development near the market to collect water during downpours, which will evaporate on its own later. The solution is multifunctional - it is also to be used for recreation and leisure purposes (in the form of a multi-stage amphitheater) , the authors of the project list.
