Social-communal architecture in Poland is a marginal part of all multifamily building developments. This subject is still treated as a secondary problem. The project of BDR Architekci studio shows how to create economical and quality buildings.
visualization of the building in the environment
© BDR Architects
The conceptualdesign for the building in Podolszyn Nowy was created in connection with a tender in the Raszyn Municipality. It did not receive any award. The architects' main concern was to create a building that would be simple and economical, as well as functional and aesthetically pleasing.
The lump is compact and unified. Delicate dynamics is given by windows and a wide open entrance. An important solution is the staircase located in the central part of the building - the architects wanted it to be fully open. The building is also separated from the street by green squares, and the surroundings included playgrounds.
Cost optimization is important in social and communal architecture. The architects chose to light the common spaces more extensively, thus reducing energy consumption. Most of the materials and products used are compact - this reduces costs without sacrificing aesthetic value.
Architect Pawel Dadok of BDR Architects talks about the design of social and communal architecture, its requirements and possible uses.
Wiktor Bochenek: Social and communal buildings in Poland, whether we want it or not, are a background topic in architecture today. How did you approach this topic?
Paweł Dadok: In Western and Northern Europe, communal and social buildings are an important theme in architecture. Suffice it to mention this year's finalist for the Mies an der Rohe Award 85 Social Housing Units by the peris+toral.arquitectes studio, or the realizations of the Slovenian Bevk Perović arhitekti studio.
In Poland, the approach to social or communal architecture is also changing. The current state is often the result of public tenders, where the quality of architectural solutions is secondary. An opportunity for change is architectural competitions, which usually produce better, more thoughtful and functional buildings.
visualization of the building with greenery
© BDR Architects
Wiktor Bochenek: How was the body of the building solved?
Paweł Dadok: We distributed the apartments around the entire perimeter of the facade. We wanted the central space of the staircase to be democratic and safe, with no dead ends, dark corridors so that the entire area was under the observation of all residents. Natural lighting with one longitudinal skylight created a pleasant atmosphere and limited the use of artificial light.
Wiktor Bochenek: How was the staircase solved?
Paweł Dadok: We managed to design the staircase in two flights led in one line, making its space more spacious and bright. The dimensions of the internal communication together with the distribution of the gears were chosen so as to meet the regulations with the maximum permissible length of the accesses.
visualization of the staircase - the goal was to create an open space
© BDR Architects
Wiktor Bochenek: How will the building's surroundings be organized?
Paweł Dadok: We had a playground, a green area and an adjacent road with parking spaces to design. We wanted the road to have a green belt, a safe sidewalk and fields between parking spaces giving good conditions for tall trees to grow. There was room for a bicycle shed, with a gazebo, and a playground for children. Formally, we adopted the simple principle of softly guided paths between rectangular fields of squares, entrances.
Wiktor Bochenek: How were the construction and maintenance costs of the facility reduced?
Paweł Dadok: The simple, compact body ensures a low ratio of the facade area to the total area of the building, which results in a reduced cost of construction and maintenance of the facility. We have made maximum use of the elevations for lighting of the apartments. We adopted standard optimal structural solutions with small ceiling spans. We used repetitive materials: windows, toilet modules, etc. We proposed to reduce energy consumption for heating the units by using thicker thermal insulation. We illuminated the staircase with zenithal natural light. The method of locating the risers at the bathrooms and kitchens, adopted in the project, allows the use of only natural gravity ventilation or economical use and temporary switching off of hybrid ventilation. We located the photovoltaic installation outside the building, on the roof of the longitudinal shed which allows for easy installation and maintenance, without interfering with the sheathing of the apartment building.
Wiktor Bochenek: Is it possible to create such a modular building, the design of which could reduce construction costs and be "massively" built by local governments and TBSs? What do you think about such solutions?
Pawel Dadok: There is no single optimal solution. Modular construction is a good solution for a regular plot of land without unusual conditions. Such plots are usually in the suburbs. As experience has shown with social-communal functions, it is not a good idea to move out and group people with special housing needs and even less to experiment. In the case of the project in Raszyn, the plot lies in the vicinity of other buildings, and the building blends in with its surroundings by scale.
A playground and small squares are planned in the building's surroundings
© BDR Architects
Wiktor Bochenek: What are you most proud of, and what was the most difficult?
Paweł Dadok: What was the most difficult. We prepared the project within the framework of a public tender organized by the Raszyn Municipality, in which the criterion besides price was the number of apartments and the quality of the proposed solutions. So it gave a chance that there would be a building selected not only on the basis of the documentation price. Unfortunately, it turned out that all but one of the bids were rejected, because in our opinion and that of the vast majority of participants the officials misinterpreted the provisions of the local plan. The provision said that a third story was allowed as a usable attic. However, this was not an obligatory provision. Everything ultimately came to a head over whether the apartments on the top floor would have a flat or sloping ceiling. The roof itself was, of course, pitched. As a result, only one studio was not disqualified and it won the tender. And this was because it had participated in the previous procedure, where all studios including it were disqualified for the reason indicated above. So the hardest lesson for us (unfortunately, not the first one) was to participate only in such tenders and competitions, where the evaluation of projects will be objective and as professional as possible.
We are satisfied with the project itself. Because on a demanding and cramped plot (development in the border of the plot, neighborhood of single-family buildings with wells, etc.) we managed to design a simple building with a regular structure with decent apartments. The repetitive layout of apartments of different typologies with a central staircase could indeed be successfully repeated in another location. Who knows, we might be able to realize a social building with a similar structure in another location.
Wiktor Bochenek: Thank you for the interview!
