An urban boulevard with a row of apple trees near Solidarity Square - this is what the heart of the post-shipyard areas in Gdansk was supposed to look like. But the project selected in the competition has been waiting for several years to be implemented. Why?
A representative promenade overgrown with an apple tree orchard is supposed to run through the post-shipyard areas, connecting Solidarity Square with the Dead Vistula waterfront. Construction of the road was to begin in 2015. However, the ambitious plans came to nothing. Instead, problems related to the creation of the promenade have multiplied.
The idea itself has roots in 2005, the project was selected in an architectural competition eight years later. Seventy-one companies competed then, including three from the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden.
instead of monuments
- democratic space
The winner was Warsaw-based Group 5 Architects.
Civil rights won give life meaning and harmony - that's why the buildings are adjacent to an apple orchard thickening towards the BHP hall - a human-friendly space that is a symbol of a reborn, fruitful life, stemming from the ideals of Solidarity , which are close to humanity, the architects described. - As free citizens, we are maturing into values such as pluralism, respect for other people, tolerance. Therefore, the Road to Freedom at its end should diverge in many directions - the diversity of civil society should be expressed here in open forms (...).
A representative promenade overgrown with an apple orchard is to run through the post shipyard area
© Group 5 Architects
TheRoad to Freedom is to become an axis, an urban skeleton cutting through important historical sites, says Michal Leszczynski of Group 5 Architects, "We did not want to introduce new monumental monumental forms competing with the Shipyard's heritage, but to create a democratic, accessible to all and human-friendly space. The greenery itself contrasts with the post-industrial character of the surroundings, and complements the objects of significant symbolic value that remain in these areas: the halls and post-shipyard infrastructure, remembering the events of August 1980.
The competition jury included representatives of the city, the conservator, architects and art historians. Following the recommendations of the historic preservationist at the time, the architects made several changes in the post-competition design. They changed the location of the trees in Solidarity Square. The layout of the pedestrian route from Gate No. 2 to Popieluszko Street was slightly modified.
project ready, but construction stopped
The promenade will run straight to the entrance to the ECS, then to the BHP hall and further to the Popieluszko Street crossing," explains Michal Leszczynski. - We have also reduced the sheet of water that would go by the BHP hall building.
The trouble is that concrete plans for the construction of the Road to Freedom currently do not exist. And there is no indication that this state of affairs will change any time soon. At first, officials justified the delays in starting work with a protest from one of the housing communities. Later, there was no money in the city's coffers for the Road to Freedom. And last March, the Pomeranian Regional Monument Conservator refused to issue a permit for the work. The reason? The conservator decided that part of the site would be placed on the register of historical monuments.
visualization
© Group 5 Architects
The city was not in a position to proceed with the investment within the planned timeframe and the documentation was no longer valid, says Izabela Kozicka-Prus of the City Hall in Gdansk. - Currently, we do not have up-to-date documentation that would determine the cost of the investment, and consequently, the funds related to the "Road to Freedom" are not included in the city's 2020 budget. The costing value of the works resulting from the documentation, which did not receive approval from the PWKZ, was nearly PLN 10 million.
