The KS Cracovia Hall with the Sports Center for the Disabled in Krakow was awarded first place in 2018 in the public architecture category in the 9th edition of the competition for the Stanislaw Witkiewicz Małopolski Voivodeship Award. Below we recall the winning project by Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Łatak.
The realization was awarded for its exemplary location on challenging scenic axes, for the extremely individual shape of the mass, which with deep respect for the landscape co-creates new public spaces - a courtyard area and a green roof accessible also to the disabled.
The sports hall is located on Focha Avenue in Krakow
Photo: Maciej Lulko © Biuro Projektów Lewicki Łatak
multifunctional facility
The hall is a multifunctional, one- and three-story facility. On the side of Focha Avenue, at the first floor level, there is a main entrance along with ticket offices and a checkroom. On the other hand, a cafeteria with a terrace is located on the southern part of the first floor. The main part of the building is occupied by a 44×26 meter hall, which allows the playing of matches in most indoor sports. The floor of the hall has been placed at the ground level. The stands have a total of 818 seats (668 fixed seats, 150 folding seats). On the same level in the eastern part of the building are a locker room, a washroom (including one for the disabled) and a first aid room.
A multi-purpose room and a gym are located in the northwest corner of the ground floor.
guest floor
Thefirst floor is the facility's guest facilities. In the southern part, the architects created a reception area and 4 double guest rooms for the disabled. At the outer wall (east side of the building) there are 13 double guest rooms, an office area and a conference room. There are also technical rooms, social facilities and a gallery overlooking the sports hall.
The first floor includes a sports hall, a multipurpose room and a gym.
© Lewicki Łatak Design Office
corten, concrete and greenery
As authors Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Łatak say about the facility:
The limitation of the allowed height of the building made it necessary to dig it into the ground. We removed the top layers of soil, and the designed building was founded on the ceiling of the lower layers - sands and gravels and above the groundwater level. The designed sculpture is formed by planes of corten steel and concrete painted in an ore shade. On the roof we have established a usable terrace and a larger expanseof greenery in the form of extensive vegetation. The designed building is constructed of several materials. The main body of the building - the foundation slab, audience stands, exterior and interior load-bearing walls, ceilings, as well as the structure of the retaining wall and the embankment along the Ore River - is made of reinforced concrete (cast-in-place), including the whole on the ground floor in waterproof concrete technology. The free and irregular form of the building decided to exclude even partial prefabrication, which was initially considered by the general contractor. Inside and outside (including in the open space within the building), the pylons are painted red. The painting is laser-like, the color covers the concrete planes unevenly, and does not attempt to mask possible local deficiencies in the quality of workmanship. It was felt that such a casual coloring would be closer to the overall intention of integrating the building into its natural surroundings. In the enclosed spaces within the building, the concrete was left in its raw state, almost entirely as it reached after strutting.
On the roof of the hall is a viewing terrace
© Lewicki Łatak Design Office
The roofing of the hall was designed from glulam. Both the girders and the secondary structure were made of this material. The roof was prepared for planting with two-color green extensive vegetation. About 150 tons of a substrate mix with the right pH and water accumulation were laid on an area of about 2,200 square meters. On the roof of the hall there is also a viewing terrace of 700 square meters from which one can admire the panorama of Blonia and Kopiec Kosciuszko.
We would like to remind you that only until June 30 this year is the call for applications for the next 10th edition of the competition for the Stanisław Witkiewicz Małopolski Voivodeship Award.
compiled by: Dobrawa Bies
illustrations courtesy of Lewicki Łatak Design Office
