One of Poland's first Care and Housing Center for adults on the autism spectrum is being built in Wroclaw's Karłowice-Różanka neighborhood, on Morawska Street. A team from the Wroclaw office ISBA Grupa Projektowa is behind the building's design.
One of the first Care and Housing Center for adults on the autism spectrum in Poland is being built on the Karłowice-Różanka estate in Wroclaw, on Morawska Street
image: Agnieszka Kotschy © ISBA Grupa Projektowa
It is estimated that up to 20 percent of the Polish population is on the neurodiversity spectrum.
The autism spectrum [...] are various conditions related to brain development that affect the way people perceive and interact with others, which can cause problems in social interaction, communication, learning, and various forms of sensory hypersensitivity. The umbrella term for this multiplicity of ways in which the brain works is neurodiversity. In a world that forgets our needs, this otherness makes the city an obstacle course
- explained Joanna Erbel in the pages of A&B.
The answer to these spatial pitfalls is supposed to be universal design, which makes a given environment made to be used by absolutely everyone.
People on the spectrum face a variety of difficulties in daily functioning and communication, as well as a degree of independence, which can be a challenge especially for adults. A supportive space for adults on the autism spectrum can be suitably industrialized training apartments or facilities like the one in Wroclaw, where twenty people will receive the help they need during the day, while the night part will be used by five people.
The center will be located north of the center of Wroclaw, surrounded by single-family houses from the 1920s and 1930s and adjacent to the contemporary building of the Agora Cultural Center (design: ASPA Pracownia Architektoniczna).
The architects designed the building on a plan similar to the letter E with green patios between the blocks
vision: Agnieszka Kotschy © ISBA Grupa Projektowa
Based on consultations with doctors and therapists, the architects designed a one-story building on an E-like plan with green patios between individual blocks. Concerned for the comfort of future users, the designers took care of acoustic comfort, adequate access to light and arranged separate quiet zones allowing respite from excessive stimuli. Another important aspect was the creation of a spatial layout adapted to the cycle of the day.
People on the autism spectrum have a strong tendency toward routine. Spaces should therefore be planned in a logical sequence according to a typical daily schedule. It is good to ensure that building users can circulate around the building in a unidirectional manner, with spatial disruptions kept to a minimum
- explain the architects.
Functions are arranged in five blocks - the first one houses therapy rooms, the second block houses studio spaces (office, practical classes, household, art and gardening), the third block is supplementary spaces - a common room/dining room and a soundproofing room, and the other two are intended for living quarters, doctors' offices and offices.Communication is carried out along the north elevation of the building, thanks to the clear layout, patients will find it easier to find their way around the COM space.
entrance area, common room
vision: Agnieszka Kotschy © ISBA Grupa Projektowa
The concept is based on the creation of an extroverted building - open to the adjacent green area - blurring the relationship between inside and outside - allowing its users to safely move from the inside to the outside world in both a literal and symbolic sense. [...] The atriums are semi-open - they are devoid of a fourth, closing wall, thus providing the possibility of contact with the outside world and an inflow of natural daylight without having the disadvantage of closed atriums, i.e. the amplification of sound reflections - particularly unfavorable in the case of people, for whom the facility is dedicated to the needs of
- the designers add.
We talk about the Wroclaw project with Joanna Styrylska, co-author of the concept
Ola Kloc: There will be a center for adults on the autism spectrum in Wroclaw - this is one of the first Care and Housing Centers of this type, where did you get your knowledge of the needs and conditions required by the future residents?
Joanna Styrylska: We consulted with people from educational institutions and those who care for people on the autism spectrum. In addition, we had a number of discussions with therapists, who pointed out to us the essential elements that require special attention when designing for such specific users.
Ola Kloc: What aspects should you pay attention to when designing spaces for people on the autism spectrum?
Joanna Styrylska: Simplifying - attention should be paid to calming. Spaces dedicated to people with increased sensitivity should be shaped in such a way as not to increase the number of, already too many, stimuli affecting users.
Ola Kloc: Your idea was to create an extrovert facility, please tell us a little more about this idea.
Joanna Styrylska: Thanks to the assumed plan of the building, similar to the letter E, the possibility of direct contact with nature was provided. Greenery penetrates into the atrium, blurring the boundary between the building and the surrounding area. The interior becomes an extroverted space opening up to the green exterior.
The concept is based on the creation of an extrovert object - open to the adjacent green area - blurring the relationship between the interior and exterior
vision: Agnieszka Kotschy © ISBA Grupa Projektowa
Ola Kloc: As in the design of the Social Integration Center in Policznie, you have introduced a contrasting accent in the form of woodwork and a few additional elements to the toned-down color block - is this solution slowly becoming your trademark?
Joanna Styrylska: It seems so. In the near future we will finish construction of other buildings with a similar stylistic treatment - a nursery in Czarny Bor - here there is salmon pink, a pavilion at the biathlon stadium also in Czarny Bor - ironwork slightly green, and a day care center in Borówno - here already subdued olive green. Let's not forget the elementary school in Świeradów-Zdrój - there we broke the white facades with lemon details.
entrance area, corridor
vision: Agnieszka Kotschy © ISBA Grupa Projektowa
Ola Kloc: The proposed body of the building has a modernist flair, did you refer more to the Agora Cultural Center than to the surrounding buildings?
Joanna Styrylska: Well - the surrounding buildings are classic pre-war houses, from the times when Różanka was a semi-rural suburb. Closer to us is the style referring to modernism, the whole center corresponds to the principle of design from inside to outside, and the form is a reflection of the function hiding inside.
Ola Kloc: Thank you for the interview.
