Once - a house by the sea, now - a whole resort complex. Ultra Architects return to the Baltic and design in the not easy space of Grzybowo near Kolobrzeg. Simplicity, reference to the character of the place and harmonization with the greenery are to dominate.
The highly regarded Ultra Architects studio (Marcin Kościuch, Tomasz Osięgłowski) is returning to the Polish coast after more than ten years. At the beginning of the past decade, the Poznan architects erected a single-family building by the Baltic Sea with the unpretentious name of House by the Sea. Now, commissioned by Nickel Development, they have designed - as the investor calls it - a "resort & spa" with vacation rentals for sale.
The building will stand in the village of Grzybowo, a western suburb of Kolobrzeg, among the sparsely coordinated development typical of most of the Polish coast. On the south side of Nadmorska Street, about 300 meters from the beach, will grow a three-story (with attic, without basement) development complex organized around a relatively spacious inner courtyard.
Nickel Resort & Spa, Grzybowo, visualization, proj. Ultra Architects - general view, from the southwest.
© Ultra Architects
baskets and scales
The calm, low block with a steep roof is to blend in with the surroundings in scale and form so as not to increase, but to reduce spatial confusion (there are already hotels, guesthouses and residential buildings of various qualities in the neighborhood). In order to break the compact nature of the premise they designed, the architects reduced the mass by attic parts in the vicinity of each corner of the complex. Tomasz Osięgłowski of Ultra Architects said:
We wanted the building to be as contemporary and simple as possible. In the context in which it stands, its intimate height and the disjointed massing of the sloping roof fit naturally into the existing buildings.
However, the building will be distinguished by balconies with distinctive wooden cladding. A coherent character will be given by the roof covering going over the wall surfaces made of matte aluminum tile. The references can be easily deciphered. The tile is a fish scale, and the enclosures are meant to resemble old beach chairs. At the same time, these design distinctions give the project a consistent and uncluttered character. Osięgłowski explains:
The choice of unique tile as roofing and facade, along with the decision to use wooden balcony enclosures, refers directly to the architectural archetypes of historic resort, resort or spa buildings.
dune enters the resort
The elevations are somewhat reminiscent of the solution used by the same architects in the Poznan tenement at Rynek Wildecki. Similar, though more dense, is the dynamic, alternating arrangement of balconies with a "boxy" shape. This compression of the facade checkerboard is due to the size of the units. Some of the "apartments" will be about 42 square meters and have a floor plan similar to the recently widespread two-room and two-window apartment with a so-called kitchenette. Ultimately, the facility is expected to accommodate 216 units ranging in size from 18 to 56 sqm. The largest ones, equipped with a kind of mezzanine floor, will be located mainly on the top floor.
The first floor, meanwhile, will include common spaces: SPA, fitness zone, indoor and outdoor pools, while the investor intends to transform the courtyard into an "asylum", where, according to Edyta Kolodziej, director of sales and marketing at Nickel Development:
We will recreate a dune, with authentic seaside sand overgrown with native vegetation, characteristic of Western Pomerania.
Nickel Resort & Spa, Grzybowo, courtyard, visualization, proj. Ultra Architects.
© Ultra Architects
Baltic, Scandinavian and Japanese
The greenery of the courtyard is to blend seamlessly with the interiors designed by Wroclaw-based Q2 Studio. The marketing announcements read about a design in minimalist japanese style and....
an unobvious combination of the coziness of Scandinavian style, the austerity of the Polish sea and the harmony of Japanese style.
The concept of the inner zone of the complex thus looks friendly to both its users and owners of units overlooking the courtyard. However, the character of the units designed on the outside of the complex promises to be somewhat different. Visualizations show balconies in the immediate vicinity of parking spaces for cars. However, the architects explain to us that they will separate them from the parking lot with densely planted tall greenery.
The whole project is expected to be ready by 2025. The building, with units bought by private investors, will be managed by Nickel Hospitality, a company owned by Nickel Development. The company has plans to build similar complexes both by the sea and in the mountains.
