Work submitted to the Halina Skibniewskaya student competition - HEALTHY HOUSE
The starting point of the following project was an analysis of the housing situation in contemporary Poland. Growing social and environmental awareness questions the current housing policy. Developer investments dominate the market offer of Polish cities. The most popular alternative is to build a private home, but this is often associated with transportation exclusion and high infrastructure costs. It is also controversial due to environmental impact and resource management.
Multi-family house in Stary Mokotow district
© Alicja Glowacka
Developer-owned multifamily buildings reduce common space to the bare minimum, making it far more difficult to establish neighborly relationships and create supportive micro-communities. In the next decades, the number of senior citizens is projected to increase rapidly and depopulation will continue. Support groups will become more important, so it is important to look for alternative forms of housing that foster the formation of community ties.
Spatial tangency is a prerequisite for forming ties,
that's why common spaces are designed tangentially to the staircase
© Alicja Glowacka
In order to make the design process more realistic and to rationalize its end results, a research group was selected, whose members played the roles of hypothetical investors. It was assessed that alternative forms of housing as presented were attractive to large multigenerational families with strong ties and a high need for regular contact. The family invited to the project was involved at various stages of the process: selection of the plot, definition of the building program, shaping of apartment layouts, designation of private spheres of life. The methods adopted for participation were individual interviews and voting through survey forms. Due to strong relationships and willingness to cooperate, it was assumed that the building would be managed by consensus (deep democracy).
On each floor of the staircase there are small-scale solutions that create a warm, homely atmosphere of the space.
© Alicja Glowacka
Building a house for a housing cooperative carries investment risks. In the long term, changes in the structure of the community and other needs that follow are inevitable. To make efficient use of the building space possible regardless of the following changes, care was taken to make the layout flexible and adaptable at the spatial and structural levels. The universal approach opens up new possibilities for the facility in case the community dissolves.
One of the key design decisions was the location of the staircase and making it the core of the building
© Alicja Glowacka
One of the key design decisions was to locate the stairwell and make it the core of the building. The staircase is a link between all floors with great potential to promote casual interaction between residents, so the design builds its appeal through openings to all directions, access to natural light, and a view link to the garden. On each floor of the staircase there are small-scale solutions that create a warm, homey atmosphere of the space.
The community program of the building has been integrated into the different floors on the principle of dispersed apartments
© Alicja Glowacka
The community program of the building has been inscribed in the different floors on the principle of scattered dwellings. By interweaving private spaces with common spaces, the number of potential routes of residents was increased, which intensified the number of possible contacts between users. Spatial tangency is a prerequisite for forming bonds, so the common spaces were designed tangentially to the staircase. As a result, the building plan does not force interaction, but invites it.
HBE prefabricated wooden elements were used for the construction of the building
© Alicja Glowacka
HBE wooden prefabricated elements were used for the construction of the building. Their ease of assembly and lightness yet strength limit the involvement of heavy machinery in construction, which reduced potential construction costs and carbon footprint, while creating a healthier interior climate.
Alicja Glowacka
illustrations: © Author
