A graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology and a member of the JEMS Architects team, {tag:studenci}, in an attempt to define the concept of a master plan and verify its rules, created a design for a Rest House that could be built in Sandomierz. The polycentric layout of the building promotes meetings, contact with nature and facilitates natural ventilation of the building.
The project, "Rest House on the Old Town Hill in Sandomierz," is a master's thesis carried out under the direction of Maciej Miłobędzki and Grzegorz Rytel. Beata Momot's thesis is an attempt to define the concept of a master plan and to study its meaning and evolution over the centuries, particularly in residential buildings, as well as to identify its special features and qualities.
View of the house from Staromiejska Street
© Beata Momot
timeless central composition
The cited theories and examples of central plans in my theoretical work show that centrality is deeply rooted in the human subconscious, which manifests itself, among other things, in the construction of primordial, "intuitively" constructed shelters. The source and inspiration for these objects is the world of natural forms, where centrality can be observed both in the world of plants and also in structures created by animals. Plans with a central composition can be considered timeless - their idea developed in antiquity and was subjected to interpretations by subsequent eras. Typology of the plan based on a clearly outlined center appeared in many buildings, often of different nature, for example, castles, palaces, monasteries and villas," Beata Momot introduces the work.
analysis of central plans
© Beata Momot
concept of centrality
The analyzed objects allowed the author to define the concept of centrality in plan and space. As she says, a plan with a central composition is based on the organization of rooms around some main, characteristic space, for example, a hall, courtyard, atrium, which is often distinguished by its scale and defined geometry.
The central composition in an architectural plan does not define the location of the heart of the house precisely in its geometric center. The elements that limit and separate the center are primarily massive partitions in the form of walls or columns. Depending on the degree of perforation of these partitions, three types of central plan can be defined - centripetal, centrifugal and centripetal. Central plans especially centrifugal and centrifugal-center plans connect the heart of the house with the landscape in a scenic way - such as Villa Rotonda, Villa a Norrkoping, Casa Gago and do not exclude the separation of the house space from the outside, the architect explains.
Project of the Rest House in Sandomierz, landscaping plan
© Beata Momot
The main feature of the plans analyzed by the author is the absence or significant reduction of corridors - the communication of the building is incorporated into the spaces of which the plan is built. Traffic in such a space is animated - there are many possible routes, which most often intersect in the center.
This creates a suitable circulation space that gives the opportunity for free and unrestricted movement. This characteristic leads to interaction and informal encounters between users - the center plan has a communal character," advances the PW graduate.
The house was designed on the Old Town Hill
© Beata Momot
Rest House in Sandomierz
In the design of the Rest House on the Old Town Hill in Sandomierz , the author summarizes and verifies the rules and features that govern master plans. The architect set the intimate building with a hotel function among the villas, orchards and ravines of the hill overlooking the Old Town.
The plan of the designed house has a polycentric layout
© Beata Momot
The plan of the designed house has a polycentric layout , and its organization is centrifugal-centric. The structure of the layout is organized based on several central spaces - the lobby, which is the heart of the house, and a group of smaller centers, which are the living rooms of the individual apartments. The heart of the building is located on an axis, which has its beginning on Staromiejska Street, and on the other side is crowned with a view of the silhouette of the old city with Opatowska Gate. Connecting the center with the entrance and garden portico, it organizes the plan of the House and establishes the main relationship with the landscape. The order of circular supports that permeates the interior, connecting the two porticoes, provides its architectural setting.
The center of the house overlooking the Old Town
© Beata Momot
natural ventilation
With the lantern windows open on a summer night, the building acts as a natural air conditioner fed by the cool morning air entering through the open doors and windows of the first floor. The massive masonry structure thus stores the coolness it gives back during the hot day, creating a comfortable microclimate. In the colder seasons, the hallway and the lantern allow, like a large chimney, to quickly and efficiently ventilate the interior - without excessive cooling of the masonry, which is a kind of heat reservoir in winter.
Project of the Rest House in Sandomierz, axonometry and cross-section
© Beata Momot
hall - the center of the house
The order of concrete columns of the entrance portico penetrates into the interior of the house - arranged in a quadrangle and piled into two levels, they mark its center - the hall. The space has the character of an interior atrium, the scale of which is reminiscent of some of the ancient houses of the South.
The center of the house, the second story
© Beata Momot
The atrium surroundsa farmyard located on two levels - a kind of interior cloister, with half-shaded entrances to individual rooms and small alcoves for seating. The hallway is illuminated on the upper side - light enters its interior, filtered through the dense rhythms of wooden woodwork and concrete pillars, on which rests a glossy stucco lid.
The rest house is an intimate hotel
© Beata Momot
Thecenter of the House is actually a kind of large living room - a place where, while waiting for accommodation, one can find a moment of respite after a trip, drink coffee or get to know other vacationers. In the geometric center of this space there is a watering hole, where you can drink water or nourish yourself with a glass of local wine, Beata Momot adds.
