Mateusz Baranowski, Maja Stankowska and Klaudia Ryś from the PWr Faculty of Architecture designed the ecovillage of the future and won the Intuiture2075 international competition organized by the 361bit platform, beating teams from 35 universities from 11 countries! Their proposal is an example of a sustainable settlement model, drawing on traditional rural construction in Lower Silesia.
entrance area of the ecovillage
© Mateusz Baranowski, Maja Stankowska, Klaudia Ryś
The challenge of the competition was to design a self-sustainable housing development that could be built in 2075 and would reflect the idea of sustainability, good social interaction and technology. The goal the organizers set for the participants was to anticipate future trends and create a space that is both pro-social and environmentally responsible. The choice of design plot was arbitrary, and the design solutions were futuristic.
As the location of the village, the authors chose Redzin
© Mateusz Baranowski, Maja Stankowska, Klaudia Ryś
victory of the team from Poland
The submitted projects were evaluated by a jury consisting of: Kawazoe Junichiro (Kawazoe Junichiro Architects, Japan), Mohammed Adib (Dewan architects+engineers, United Arab Emirates), Snehal Suthar (The Grid Architects, India), Bhadri Suthar (The Grid Architects, India), Kat Stevens (Zaha Hadid Architects, UK), Ravindra Kumar (PraGrup Architects, India) and Monish Siripurapu (The Ant Studio, India).
The jury awarded three main prizes and twelve honorable mentions. First Prize and €1,000 went to the team from Wrocław University of Technology, consisting of: Mateusz Baranowski, Maja Stankowska and Klaudia Ryś. The awarded project was carried out as part of the Architecture Design — Environmentally Friendly Dwelling Architecture course, under the direction of Dr. Anna Miśniakiewicz.
Second Prize went to the SJARCHI3 team from South Korea and Third Prize to the Tom & Jerry team from China. You can read all the results on the competition website.
single-family houses in zone III
© Mateusz Baranowski, Maja Stankowska, Klaudia Ryś
"back to the roots"
We extended our work by revitalizing a historic building located on a plot of land we selected in Rędzin, Lower Silesia, and designing numerous services, workplaces and recreation. As a result, we created an independent mixed-use complex. The design was made with local, low-carbon building materials and supplemented with carbon calculations that prove the passivity of the facilities. We presented a vision of residential architecture that illustrates the slogan „back to the roots” using traditional and local solutions for sustainable development, the award-winning authors say.
The young architects' approach depicts a future that is not a futuristic, detached design, but draws on the familiar but forgotten.
We believe that the answer to our questions about the future of architecture lies in history and the proper use of its assets, they add.
projections and sections of zones I and II
© Mateusz Baranowski, Maja Stankowska, Klaudia Ryś
ecovillage in Rędzin
Providing diverse, flexible, accessible and affordable spaces was very important in the design process. The authors focused on defining the potential residents of the estate and identifying their most important needs, such as a sense of security, interneighborhood integration and education, and wellbeing and mental health.
The heart of the ecovillage is made up of buildings maintained in a triangular layout, which includes: "residential barn," "vehicle barn" and greenhouse.
This type of development was taken from traditional 3-building homesteads present in villages in Lower Silesia. It was characterized by a fairly regular layout, in which homestead buildings formed small semi-private or private courtyards. In our project, we used these layouts to create three residential zones differing in building density and typology, the designers explain.
residential building in zone I
© Mateusz Baranowski, Maja Stankowska, Klaudia Ryś
The project contains three zones, formed by Zone I consisting of ground-floor accessible apartments, its second floor is occupied by studios and the second floor by hotel rooms (a total of 62 residential units + 22 hotel rooms), Zone II consists of 72 residential units in the form of co-housing terraced apartments — with a common kitchen and living space, and Zone III is formed by 16 detached single-family houses.
This gives a total of 150 residential units and 22 hotel rooms for people who want to experience life in the countryside. In addition, 42 of the 150 units are fully accessible to people with disabilities. The spatial layout we have managed to create ensures a gradual dilution of the development towards the north, where there is the most green space, the authors conclude.
For construction, the authors used ecological materials
© Mateusz Baranowski, Maja Stankowska, Klaudia Ryś
sustainable construction of the future and circular economy
The authors proposed a variety of uncomplicated ways to construct buildings — load-bearing straw construction, straw blocks on a wood frame, the hempcrete system, recycled brick, and complementary 3D printing using ecological plant-based materials.
Modern construction drawing knowledge from practices known for generations, combined with circular economics and deep ecological education of residents can be a recipe for the future of suburban housing, they argue.
There are numerous service centers in the village
© Mateusz Baranowski, Maja Stankowska, Klaudia Ryś
In the project, the PWr students also envisioned three service centers, which are located in a „wedge” zone extending through the entire premise. This space was created to promote social integration and education. There are estate orchards, vertical farms and apiaries. All this is designed to encourage residents to actively participate in sustainable practices: service-consumption, education and processing, as well as permaculture and farming.
axonometry of the nursery
© Mateusz Baranowski, Maja Stankowska, Klaudia Ryś
The action of the „wedge” represents the process of circular economy. The cycle begins in the third center, where plant and animal products are produced, which are then processed in the second center. In this part of the process, we envision space for cheese-making, facilities for learning how to sew and repair clothing in the spirit of the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), a ceramics workshop site and food warehouses. The final stage is the sale and consumption of products in eating establishments and stores. Here the circle closes, and the organic waste goes into compost, energizing the village or nourishing the land for crops. At every stage we emphasize ecological education, so the workshop facilities are an important part of the premise and, we believe, the future of healthy communities, the authors explain.
A restored barn that houses a coworking zone
© Mateusz Baranowski, Maja Stankowska, Klaudia Ryś
The next step was to design coworking zones. These spaces, are located in a restored barn and pavilions, among others, and provide a comfortable environment for work.
The project of an ecovillage in Lower Silesia, set in 2075, presents a vision of a forward-looking approach to sustainable architecture, emphasizing human interaction, education and wellbeing with what ensures a thriving community. It is an attempt to show a sustainable settlement model that ensures harmony between architecture, nature and people," Mateusz, Maja and Klaudia summarize the project.
