We present the results of another competition organized by the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology in cooperation with the City and Municipality of Wieliczka. This time, students faced the task of designing a health care facility dedicated to seniors under the name Wieliczka Geriatric Care Center.
The competition task was aimed at second-year, second-semester students of the Faculty of Architecture. The students prepared their projects in the Cultural Facilities Design Team in the A-6 Department under the direction of Dr. Magdalena Kozień-Woźniak, Prof. PK, Dr. Marta Fąfara, Eliza Owczarek and Marcin Gierbienis in cooperation with the City and Municipality of Wieliczka. This was another cooperation between the two institutions. Wieliczka is a dynamic developing city that needs new architectural solutions, hence the competitions aimed at students. In earlier years, students had the opportunity to perform projects related to public services such as the philharmonic hall or a transportation hub.
First prize in the competition for the design of the Wieliczka Geriatric Care Center
© Izabela Samborska
care for seniors
The topic of creating a Wieliczka Geriatric Care Center is an initiative of the mayor of Wieliczka City and Commune Artur Koziol - who wants to build such a facility in the near future. The projects prepared by second-degree students were another approach to the topic. A year earlier, first-degree students also worked on a similar concept. The then functional program was verified by the specific needs of the city authorities, and a new location for the investment was identified - on the outskirts of Wieliczka near the unique forested area of Grabówka Park. It was this attractive, green location that became the main inspiration for the students' work. The forest context and the peculiar topography of the plot allowed for a variety of effects. The turn to ecology and respect for nature, as well as the introduction of pro-social values in architecture, was emphasized by the mayor of Wieliczka, who participated in the seminars and project defenses and had the opportunity to oversee the students' work. An independent jury chaired by him evaluated the projects, of which, in addition to the main awards, the Internauts' Award was also given.
First Prize
By the decision of the jury, the first prize went to Izabela Samborska, whose project was appreciated for its proposal of an object dynamically relating to the existing landscape, which is not directly associated with a closed health care facility.
The project was appreciated for its proposal of an object dynamically relating to the existing landscape
© Izabela Samborska
The jury noted that the nearby forest was introduced into the development of the plot. The slope was interpreted as agreen amphitheater, and thanks to the idea of small atriums, nature accompanies the seniors all the time. The scale and form of the hospital's body is also appropriate," the justification reads.
Second prize
The second prize went to Kinga Pyka's project
© Kinga Pyka
Kinga Pyka received the second prize. The student took advantage of the topography of the plot, creating a composition of planes on which she placed the body of the building with a clear division into a part of the clinic and patient services and a part with patients' rooms combined with social spaces - always with easy access to the surrounding greenery. The author also proposed a dynamic, geometric facade that creates the character of the facility's architecture.
Third prize
Third prize went to Iwona Kopta
© Iwona Kopta
Third prize went to Iwona Kopyta. The facade of the building she designed is characterized by simplicity and minimalism, emphasized by the rhythm of pilasters and the raw materials used: concrete and wood. The jury noted the clear reference to the surrounding nature. On one of the blocks, the student placed a green roof that flows seamlessly into a forest glade, while the other block was equipped with a green atrium with an exposed slope fragment. Designing a classic atrial object, the author decided on a less stenciled solution by giving the cut-out a circular form, thanks to which the space gains in attractiveness both when viewed from the outside and in the interior - the seniors' rooms open up into a large social space, from which the spacious atrium can be seen.
internauts award
First place in the Internauts Award category
© Katarzyna Życzyńska
The competition also included a popular audience vote. As a result, two prizes of internauts were selected. The first prize went to Katarzyna Żyszczyńska, who proposed a building body that was minimalist in form, as well as a characteristic public square in the center of the project - intended to integrate seniors and encourage them to be active. The second prize of the internauts went to Izabela Samborska, also awarded by the jury with first place in the main category of the competition.
Read also about the results of the competition for the design of the House of Literature in the Shores.
