As many as ninety works were submitted for the one-stage, realization competition for the design of a model mountain shelter on Luban, organized by the Cracow branch of SARP and commissioned by the Polish Tourist Society, which was settled on December 16, 2020. Among them was the proposal of the Budcud studio team (Mateusz Adamczyk, Krzysztof Kalita and Agata Wozniczka) prepared together with Justyna Kolarz - Model Mountain Shelter 360°.
model shelter, visualization
© BUDCUD
Ola Kloc: In the competition to design the Model Shelter on Luban, you proposed a compact, sculptural shape - what is the reason for its final shape?
BUDCUD: We designed a model shelter - one that can be implemented in various locations, and which retains the architectural qualities we desire - and adapted its form to the shape of Luban. The composition of our shelter is built by three elements: the stone basement, thanks to which the building can be inscribed into the terrain; the glazed first floor as a meeting place with a panoramic view of the surroundings; and the sloping roof, into which we inscribed the accommodation rooms. We wrote these three compositional components into the body of the building. We wanted the form of the building to be compact and compact, but also contemporary, for reasons of effective functionality, desirable energy efficiency and the tradition of shelter typologies. With the form of the chalet, we wanted to emphasize both its relationship with the environment and the inspiration of the mountain landscape, as well as the communality of the experience of resting on the summit.
axonometries of the building
© BUDCUD
Ola: In the project description you emphasize that your proposal is a manifesto for energy self-sufficient architecture - what solutions did you use in the design to achieve this?
BUDCUD: A mountain hostel should be a manifesto of energy-efficient functional architecture. Our hostel on Luban is a building full of natural sunlight, with a clear and compact functional-spatial layout (and therefore also energy efficient). When designing the building on Luban, we first of all tried to avoid resultant spaces that cannot be used in any way. Therefore, we proposed a building with a centrally located cage and adjacent installation risers. This gave us a rational structural model, and at the same time a flexible functional layout for the building. We designed the building with a wooden structure, which makes it easier to obtain local raw material or build the shelter in a hard-to-reach location, and to minimize its environmental impact. We set up a photovoltaic installation on both roof slopes of the shelter, which optimizes energy generation at different times of the day and year. In addition, we proposed a number of solutions for comfortable use of the building with limited resources.
operation scheme of an energy self-sufficient shelter
© BUDCUD
Ola: You compete in architectural competitions both in Poland and abroad. What differences do you see in competitions at home and abroad? How do you evaluate this form of project selection?
BUDCUD: Foreign competitions have clearer and more consistent evaluation criteria, promote innovative solutions and appreciate diverse ways of thinking. This preference for innovation and diversity is perfectly evident during the awarding of the prizes - one never appreciates only one typology of solutions, but indicates the best, often different directions of approach to a design problem. That is why we better understand the results of foreign competitions - precisely because of the consistency of their evaluation and substantive justifications for the evaluation of works, which are often lacking in Poland.
The discussion about the quality of Polish architectural competitions, which is present in the industry environment, as well as in the public media, makes us think about the quality of their organization. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to perform an audit of the procedures carried out and consider why so many decisions are not realized. It seems to us that the Polish jury often looks at the proposed solutions in a one-way manner - either the form, the budget, the efficient inclusion of the object in the Local Development Plan or the speed of carrying out the investment. We believe that a competition for a hostel should not be judged like a competition for a museum - an icon, where form takes precedence over effective functionality, and in turn, a competition for a museum should not be stylistically homogeneous and reward five identical objects.
We are often baffled by the abbreviated, simplistic justifications of domestic adjudications, which can contradict the previously formulated evaluation criteria. We postulate that - since architects, taking part in competitions, devote their own time and resources - the jury should give its opinion on each of the submitted works. Such behavior would be both a gesture of respect for the effort put in by the contest participants, but would also force a more in-depth analysis of the design assumptions of each of the submitted works.
Ola: Thank you for the interview!
