The {tag:studenci}, an architecture student at the Warsaw University of Technology, designed an art high school that could be built in the Praski Port. The first floor of the building serves a social function, with a library, sports and exhibition hall, while the floors house classrooms and studios. The school's distinctive green facade is made of tinted concrete, blending the building into its surroundings.
The design of the art high school in the ever-expanding Praski Port in Warsaw was carried out as an assignment in classes taught by Dr. Krystian Kwiecinski and Slawomir Kowal. The design requirement was to make the building compatible with the local plan. The proposed high school is designed for about four hundred students. According to the author, the idea for the building was inspired by the natural surroundings and the plot itself, which is a large green area.
The art high school has a simple body
© Łukasz Rossa
My goal was for the newly constructed building to interfere as little as possible with its surroundings, and during the design work I focused on making the school fit seamlessly into the neighborhood. This influenced the idea of using tinted green concrete on the upper two floors of the facade. This allows it to visually blend in with the surrounding greenery and the rhythm of the trees, while avoiding dominating the building's form," explains Łukasz Rossa.
The building consists of a first floor and two floors
© Łukasz Rossa
first floor – social function
The student decided that the first floor facade would remain in concrete color, visually separating from the upper floors and emphasizing the functional division of the school.
art high school, first floor plan
© Łukasz Rossa
The first floor of the building has a primarily social function, encouraging the local community to use the school's spaces outside of school hours, with a library, sports hall or exhibition room located here. The other two floors are dedicated to students, where the main classrooms are located.
In the center of the school is a green atrium
© Łukasz Rossa
The rooms have been planned in an amphitheater layout, which facilitates convenient communication throughout the building. In the center of the school is a green atrium that not only brings light to each floor, but also creates a visual connection to the lush vegetation.
precast concrete building
The design premise also includes the use of a 4×4 meter grid to shape the functional layout of the school. This modular approach allows for efficient use of space and provides flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of students, the author explains.
art high school, cross-section
© Łukasz Rossa
The building was made of precast concrete elements, which will work well with the regular and repetitive layout of the rooms. The south and east sides of the high school house typical classrooms, while the north and west sides house specialized classrooms, such as a ceramics studio, a sculpture studio and a photography studio. On the floors, the author has also proposed recreational spaces that can be adapted according to the needs of the users, for example as study rooms or group work areas.
The building opens toward the river
© Łukasz Rossa
The school also opens toward the Vistula River.
I didn't want to close off the plot, but open it up to access the river. This would give the students additional outdoor recreational space, and the nearby community would also have a place to relax on the green escarpment that rises from the Vistula toward the school, adds Łukasz Rossa.
