Private dormitories are growing like mushrooms in Polish cities. They offer students a high standard for an equally high price. Can student housing on public university campuses match them? The new Warsaw University dormitory in Służewiec, designed by the Projekt Praga sp. z o.o studio, shows that creating a beautiful and functional living space does not require a huge budget and a private investor.
The design of the new student house was selected in 2019 in a competition organized by the SARP Main Board in cooperation with the University of Warsaw. The features of the future dormitory, already at the stage of preparing the competition's assumptions, were consulted with students through the activities of the university's Office of Innovation in Academic Space. Fifteen works were submitted to the competition, and the concept presented by Warsaw-based design studio Projekt Praga ultimately won. Construction work, which began in December 2021, was completed some time ago, and last Tuesday the building was handed over at a grand opening ceremony. How will Warsaw University male and female students live?
The new Warsaw University dormitory in Służewiec "Sulima".
Photo: Miroslaw Kazmierczak © University of Warsaw
dormitory with a view on four sides of the world
"Sulimy", a new Warsaw University dormitory has sprung up within the university's Służewiec campus. The building rises seven stories high to include common spaces, residential segments and an underground garage. All these functions are arranged in four wings connected by a central atrium. The building's subtle aesthetics are built up by a minimalist silhouette and the use of high-quality, visually interesting façade materials. Indeed, the exterior walls are covered with thick, textured plaster. Above the main entrance were convex details in the form of geometric pictograms, designed by Alina Maria Rybacka.
building design scheme
© Projekt Praga
The most distinctive feature of the new dormitory is its unusual layout - the aforementioned wings are arranged on the plan of an isosceles cross, somewhat resembling a windmill. Why such a decision?
We wanted to avoid a model of a building whose internal space would be based on the scheme of a long corridor and residential units located on either side of it. Starting from the concept of a plan with an inner courtyard, we began to modify it, and it occurred to us that when the wings concentrated around the courtyard are cut and set up in the plan of a windmill, we can suddenly get more light, shorten the corridors and plan a central common space around which the four wings are arranged. As a result, we were able to design a facility with basically no corridors longer than a dozen meters. The Sulima dormitory is relatively large, there will be places for 382 residents. Four to six residential segments are available in each wing - designing the building in this way, we wanted to create neighborhood units of an intimate scale
- explains Karolina Tunajek of the Projekt Praga studio.
Warsaw University's new dormitory in Służewiec "Sulimy".
Photo: Mirosław Kaźmierczak © University of Warsaw
space tailored to meet needs
The new residents of the dorm will have single and double rooms, organized in 132 segments. Each segment is equipped with a bathroom, and the larger ones also have kitchenettes. The interiors will feature closets, furniture, work desks and sleeping areas. Private rooms, however, are only part of the amenities offered by the new dorm.
We have compensated for the relatively compact size of the residential units with an extensive program of common areas - on the first floor there is a large public area, where we have placed a spacious common room for students, a kitchenette, a gymnasium with an outdoor sports area or a laundry room. Each floor has a two-story kitchen with four cooking aisles, a dining room, and group and individual work rooms. We wanted the community that would form in this dormitory to have its place not only at the level of individual living spaces, but also within the common areas, allowing for activities in groups of various sizes
- says the architect, Karolina Tunajek.
Warsaw University's new dormitory in Służewiec "Sulimy".
Photo: Mirosław Kaźmierczak © University of Warsaw
The building's interiors, arranged by the author's team, operate with a minimalist aesthetic. The leitmotif here is a rust-orange color, and part of the walls and most of the furnishings - railings, furniture, kitchen appliances or lighting fixtures - were painted with it. The warm tones made it possible to create a cozy, homey atmosphere in the dormitory. Proper communication is ensured by a coherent and clear visual identity designed by studio 2x2 and Alina Maria Rybacka. The building has been adapted to the needs of people with mobility, visual and hearing disabilities.
Warsaw University's new dormitory in Służewiec "Sulimy".
Photo: Miroslaw Kazmierczak © University of Warsaw
something in between
The building 's unusual projection also influenced the way the space in its immediate vicinity was developed:
The plan of the windmill seemed to us advantageous also from the point of view of urban planning. Testing various models, we came to the conclusion that it works much better in the context of the surrounding greenery compared to a building organized around an inner courtyard. It also gave the opportunity to incorporate elements of small architecture into the massing, small objects that complement the utility program. So we have a bicycle room, an amphitheater on the ramp, serving as a meeting place at the main entrance, and on the south side there is a terrace with a pergola. These facilities open up the building a bit more to the outside. The new dormitory is the beginning for the planned redevelopment of the campus - we wanted the other users of the complex to be able to use them in the future as well.
- Karolina Tunajek tells us.
The new Warsaw University dormitory in Służewiec "Sulima".
Photo: Miroslaw Kazmierczak © University of Warsaw
Thanks to the four-wing composition, during hot days at least one of the outdoor spaces almost always offers shade to the residents of the student house. The squares created in front of the building also include several flower beds with greenery - which the students will not lack, because the part of the campus where the new dormitory has sprung up is now an old garden with a rich stand of trees. Where the local plan allowed it, permeable surfaces were introduced and walking spaces were arranged. The new Warsaw University dormitory benefits from a number of environmentally friendly solutions - there are heat pumps, systems for recovering heat energy from exhaust air and photovoltaic panels.
The new Warsaw University dormitory in Służewiec "Sulimy".
Photo: Miroslaw Kazmierczak © University of Warsaw
more than a model
The new Warsaw University dormitory in Służewiec according to the competition was to become a model for future investments of this type. Today, as it begins its operation, it can be said that it has not only met this challenge, but also set new standards for the design of student residences that will help integrate the student community, be accessible and functional and - simply - beautiful.
