The project introducing greenery and combining old urban spaces with new ones by Shamil Marcin Jachimczyk won second place in the architectural and urban planning competition entitled "Patchwork Łódź". The task was to develop a concept for public spaces in the area of the former Karol Scheibler textile mills in Lodz.
The task of the competition organized by Echo Investment was to propose a new quality of public spaces at the revitalized former Karol Scheibler factories in Lodz, where the multifunctional Fuzja investment is currently under construction. The competition jury appreciated Szamil Marcin Jachimczyk's project for its clear functional division and variety of ecological solutions, as well as aesthetic and functional qualities, awarding it second place.
the project creates clear public thoroughfares
© Szamil Marcin Jachimczyk
The area covered by the awarded concept includes fragments of: from the north, Adam Mickiewicz Street, which has its continuation to the east as Pilsudski Street, from the west, Politechniki Avenue, from the east, Przędzalniana Street, and from the south, Pabianicka and Stanislaw Przybyszewskiego Streets. All of them are significant transportation routes in the center of Lodz.
green arteries of the city
The idea of the project by Shamil Marcin Jachimczyk is based on the creation of legible public thoroughfares connected with cultural, service and educational facilities of the area. The green arteries proposed by the author merge into closed systems. Walking along these new sequences, passersby have access to important Lodz facilities, such as Księży Młyn, Reymont Park, the Central Textile Museum and Scheibler's Factory. In order to facilitate the visual identification of individual spaces and add character, the designer introduced color along the arteries.
The axes delineate quarters with different functions
© Shamil Marcin Jachimczyk
quarter land development
The author based the land development concept on the following guidelines. He chose two ax es - Piotrkowska Street and the Archcathedral making them dominant. These axes delineated four quarters, each of which was treated as a self-sufficient space. After a detailed analysis, each of the quarters was given a different function: educational, residential, historic and industrial. In them, the student designed new multifunctional public spaces. He then introduced a green pedestrian route into each of the quarters, creating a clear, orthogonal layout of paths and social spaces. At the intersections of the tracts, on currently undeveloped brownfield sites, Shamil created multifunctional public spaces that fit into the existing urban fabric by combining existing elements with new ones.
The introduction of color facilitates visual identification
© Szamil Marcin Jachimczyk
history of the factory
A multifunctional building complex is currently under construction on the site of Scheibler's former textile factories. Three spaces provided for in the local plan as areas of public greenery and squares have been set aside at the designed complex. In this area, Shamil proposed creating a floor that is a record of the history of the area. This peculiar memorial plaque was marked by the historical axes of the factory, the archcathedral and the former watercourses and track layout. In such a pattern the author inscribed individual fragments and gave them functions: recreational, leisure, service and relaxation. He combined the whole with the public thoroughfares of the study area, creating a coherent concept. The combination of tranquil green areas with contrasting city-forming spaces is a response to the contemporary needs of Lodz residents.
Read also about the project by authors Pawel Bialas and Kamil Brylko from the Silesian University of Technology, which received first place in the same competition.
