Construction of five residential buildings based on a design by Roark Studio will begin next year on the site of the former Imperial Shipyard. The plans of the investor, Alides, include nearly 400 apartments and the adaptation of the former Formiernia into lofts. Although the master plan for the development of the sites was presented as early as 2018, the owner could not reach an agreement with the Pomeranian conservation officer for a long time.
The post-shipyard areas in Gdansk, which have long been stuck in an investment impasse, have been a huge construction site for several years. Slowly, successive plots of land in the newly created Young City district are filling up with developments, mainly residential and commercial, as well as office buildings. A new project, although planned for years, has been announced by the owner of the 16-hectare site of the former Imperial Shipyard. It will be built adjacent to the former Directorate building, closing the first quarter on the Imperial Shipyard site.
The developer has announced the construction of 388 apartments and 34 commercial units
© Alides/Roark Studio
Imperial Shipyard. Nearly 400 apartments in the Young City
For reasons beyond our control, obtaining a decision for the new development took much longer than we anticipated, says Rikkert Leeman, president of Alides. - However, our determination and consistent action meant that today we can proudly say: we will create a new place to which the community that gave life and meaning to this area can return.
When the promising master plan for the Imperial Shipyard was presented by Danish studio Henning Larsen in 2018, it seemed that it would be one of the first residential developments in the Young City. In the study, the architects proposed high-rise buildings reaching up to one hundred and thirty-three meters at the extremities of the plot, while in the heart of the area, among the adapted shipyard halls, they planned a lower development. Among the obstacles were difficulties in obtaining agreements from the Pomeranian Provincial Conservator of Monuments, who had reservations about the form of the development, and his triggering of the procedure for entering the site in the register of monuments. Since then, Alides has managed to renovate only two historic buildings: the Directorate and the located vis a vis the former Fire Station (opened in 2020).
Imperial Shipyard. Construction will begin in 2025.
© Alides/Roark Studio
Roark Studio project. "Background for monuments".
Now five new buildings will be constructed on the Imperial Shipyard site, and the historic building of the former Formiernia will be revitalized. The urban layout of the newly designed development covers the area between Narzędziowców Street to the north, Popiełuszki Street to the south, the Directorate building to the west and the Formiernia building to the east.
In total, Alides plans to build 388 apartments and 34 commercial units. The developer also stated that the new buildings will have 4 to 6 stories. The Tricity-based Roark Studio, which has designed the Atrium Oliva residential and commercial complex, Chlebowa Apartments, and the Nowe Kolibki estate, among others, is responsible for the project.
Henning Larsen studio's 2019 concept.
© Alides/ Henning Larsen
- Designing on the Imperial Shipyard site was a challenging task for our team. We were involved in the revitalization of two historic buildings in the area, but introducing new development into the post-industrial fabric is a challenge, says Jakub Bladowski, owner of Roark Studio. - We wanted the designed buildings to provide a backdrop for the historic buildings, while at the same time being complementary to them, so that the unique atmosphere of the shipyard would be preserved. The urban layout of the new establishment is closely related to the location of the halls that no longer exist in the area, while the architectural expression is a contemporary reference to their scale and character, Bladowski adds.
This is what the Imperial Shipyard area looks like today
© Alides
The architects emphasize that the inspiration for the varied composition of the top floors comes from the skyline of the shipyard and the steel cranes towering over the brick buildings. In order to emphasize the maximum height of the original, defunct buildings, the blocks were designed as brick - up to the height of the pre-existing halls that once stood in their place, and above their height their architectural expression was changed to steel, referring to the cranes.
- The character of the exterior spaces is intended to emphasize the unique location in the post-industrial fabric by means of exposing relics (in the form of historic trusses or tracks) and introducing materials such as triclinate, sheet metal, and corrugated concrete, they add.
