The history of many monuments in Lower Silesia shows an exceptionally interesting path from the uncertainty of the post-war period through slow taming to full recognition as "their own." These are also buildings that conceal a lot of promise as well as potential, as evidenced by the metamorphosis of the train station in Pławna Dolna by the Revision Design Group project.
unfrequented, but not abandoned
The train station in Plawna Dolna stood undeveloped for many years. The last rail connections were cut back in the 1990s. "The sharp cut," Karol Trammer wrote about in his book, also included Plawna. The tracks were removed in 2009 and replaced with a bike path.
The station building was still waiting for many years for an interesting development and idea, but thanks to social energy, it was possible to create a meeting place for the local community there. The station serves today in a completely different way, but the most important thing is that it still serves. Monuments in the region have very often waited a long time, or are still waiting for adaptation. The social power that brings them to fruition is invaluable.
The metamorphosis of the train station in Pławna Dolna was only possible thanks to the activity of the local community.
Photo: Maciej Lulko
Krzysztof Grześków of the Revision Design Group talks about the design process, the value of what I ponder, and why time is of the essence in projects involving objects of the past.
Wiktor Bochenek: The story of the reconstruction of the railway station in Pławna Dolna took several years - the decision to rebuild already appeared about a decade ago. What was the design and construction process like over the years?
Krzysztof Grześków: The design process was very "fluid", over the course of five years we changed the documentation several times, adapting it to the guidelines of the ordering party, which in turn resulted from the guidelines of various support programs. Here it should be noted that despite the implementation of almost two hundred projects already, we have never encountered such obstinacy on the part of the investor. In any investment process, financing is key. The municipality of Lubomierz, when it did not get the financing for which we created the documentation, found another competition, and then another, and so on until the end.
The architects primarily focused on not destroying anything here
photo: Maciej Lulko
To design something, on an existing structure, you need to get to know this structure well at the beginning, and to do this, first of all, you need time. Personally, I really like going to inventories because of the immense amount of information that comes down during such a process, and I'm not just talking about dimensions or materials, but about how the building functions, its context or history. In 2014, when the municipality decided to redevelop the building, an elderly lady who collected dolls and devotional items lived in the building.
This is where one of the station's ramps looked like
Photo: Maciej Lulko
Wiktor: The railway station in Pławna Dolna is also a place of more than a century of history. How did you approach the issue of the historical fabric of the place?
Krzysztof: This was not the first station we worked on. In 2013, we drew up documentation for a station several kilometers away from Plawna. In both cases, studying archival materials, of which there are really quite a lot, we were just sorry.
Beautiful, well-maintained, well-functioning just like, by the way, the entire rail network in these areas. In the end it was destroyed, and not by the war, but by the lack of any action by the regional administrators of postwar Poland. When drawing up the documentation, much more attention was paid to not destroying something than to adding something.
special terraces were created on the ramp for users of the facility
photo: Maciej Lulko
Wiktor: Towhat extent were these conservation measures, and to what extent were they giving a new character?
Krzysztof: The project mainly envisaged cleaning the sandstone walls, repairing damaged structures and restoring it to its late 19th century state. Particularly noteworthy is the railroad signal box, which was literally transformed from scrap metal into a fascinating device with colorful shapes. The place where modernity can be seen is precisely in the buildings of the former signal box.
Due to the impossibility of recovering the wooden structure of the extension, we were forced to rebuild it. At this point, we decided that while maintaining the exterior dimensions of the building, we would change the material from wood to something transparent, something that would allow us to expose such a nicely restored, colorful device. This time I think we succeeded again, and what is very important to me, with costs kept to a complete minimum.
The station space will serve the residents - the people who took care of its preservation
Photo: Maciej Lulko
Wiktor: What is in the new facility, what functions will it now perform?
Krzysztof: The facility used to be, of course, located on a very scenic railroad line. Now that the trains no longer run, a bicycle path has been created in place of the tracks, which is part of a broader concept called "Cyklostrada Dolnośląska." Among other things, it is cyclists who are to be served by the building in which a small cafe will be organized. In addition, in the former warehouse part, a village hall was created along with an exhibition space.
Today there are no tracks next to the station, they have been replaced by a bicycle route
Photo: Maciej Lulko
Wiktor: The surroundings are also important - what changes have taken place outside the facility?
Krzysztof: The area around was mainly cleaned up and, importantly, the parking lot for cars was reorganized. The former freight ramps have been turned into terraces where visitors can rest. The next step is to develop the adjacent areas, where there are small outbuildings with an interesting form. These will allow the village hall to expand its activities to include outdoor activities.
The railroad signal box has been preserved and enhanced with a delicate fever of colors
Wiktor: What was the biggest challenge, and what gives you the most satisfaction?
Krzysztof: The biggest challenge with historic sites is usually to fit within the budget without sacrificing historic elements. Here, we succeeded largely due to the understanding of the contractor, who clearly has a love of history.
Victor: Thank you for the interview.
