A new elementary school and kindergarten has been built in Przybysławice - a small village located in Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska. The modern educational institution with an unusual shape, resulting from the limitations of the difficult plot of land located on a hill, is a project by architects from the Krakow-based studio ARP Manecki.
Located on a hill, among hills and single-family houses, the Jerzy Kukuczka Elementary School fits in with the terrain thanks to a thoughtful distribution of functions. In addition to classrooms, the facility offers students a swimming pool with large glass windows and a view of the orchard, a mediatheque, a classroom in an open inner courtyard and a full-size handball court.
The school was built on an area with a steep slope
Photo: Piotr Król © ARP Manecki
school in Jura Krakowsko-Czestochowska
The plot is located on a hill in the southern part of the Krakow-Czestochowa Jurassic Highland in a beautiful, but very difficult in terms of design terrain with a steep slope, was a challenge for the architects and at the same time a pretext to create an unusual composition of the building. ARP Manecki studio did its best to make the newly created building correspond with both the hills of the surrounding area and the surrounding buildings, while meeting all the expectations of future users.
first floor plan
© ARP Manecki
Theschool and kindergarten in Przybysławice has also been equipped with infrastructure for sports such as outdoor fields, a swimming pool for swimming lessons and a multi-purpose gymnasium, and we were also keen to integrate the building into its surroundings. The uniformly rising roof and slanted wooden beams placed on the school's facade relate to the character of the surrounding buildings and grounds. Walls made of natural stone, placed along the playing field and between parking lots, gently transitioning to parts of the facade are a reference to the Krakow-Czestochowa Jurassic Highland, explains Mateusz Manecki, the project's author.
The uniformly rising roof and slanting wooden beams placed on the school's facade
refer to the character of the surrounding buildings and area
Photo: Piotr Król © ARP Manecki
building inscribed in the terrain
The lay of the land was of great importance in the design of the school. The building was made in such a way that one part of it extends horizontally along the line of the hill, while the other part rises upward with the terrain, and the central part is overhung above the entrance. In addition, the architects planned the rooms and their functions in such a way that they correspond to the conditions of the hill on which the school is located.
first floor plan
© ARP Manecki
The gymnasium is sited half a storey higher than the first floor, while the swimming pool is a full storey higher. These differences in height are overcome by students using an internal ramp, and they also have access to an elevator located in the center of the building, so the school is also fully accessible to people with disabilities, explains Mateusz Manecki.
The architects are also responsible for the school's interiors
Photo: Piotr Król © ARP Manecki
swimming pool, patio, media room
The pool's facilities and technical rooms have been inscribed into the slope, making maximum use of the available space. The pool located above them, with a length of 12.5 meters and a width of 8 meters, makes it possible for both children attending the school and residents to learn to swim - the facility is made available in the evenings.
swimming pool for learning to swim
Photo: Piotr Król © ARP Manecki
Particularly noteworthy is the interior courtyard-patio, which has been designated as an open classroom. Students can also use the media room, library, computer room and modernly equipped chemistry rooms. The architects also thought of recreation areas for children, which have been organized in the corridors. The memorial to Jerzy Kukuczka, the school's patron, has not been forgotten either.
full-size outdoor sports field
photo: Piotr Król © ARP Manecki
sports hall and auditorium
The Jerzy Kukuczka School, where some 350 students and 100 kindergarten children have begun their education, is already the third modern school in the Zielonki commune. The building also includes a 24-by-12-meter multipurpose sports hall, with a volleyball and basketball court, a climbing wall, ropes suspended from the ceiling and other exercise equipment. The hall can be divided into two parts by an electronically controlled partition, and the games can be watched from an auditorium located on the mezzanine floor. An outdoor field with the surface area of a full-size handball court is another attraction for students.
multipurpose sports hall
Photo: Piotr Król © ARP Manecki
We invest a lot in the development of education to provide the children and young people of our municipality with the best possible educational conditions. Our activities are bearing fruit - this is the sixth time that the Zielonki commune has been certified as a Local Government Education Leader and has been awarded the Gold Certificate of the Local Government Education Leader," sums up Beata Lipień-Łysek, head of the Construction and Urban Planning Department of the Zielonki Commune Office.
