Will the soothing sound of sea waves and gently diffused light help relieve the suffering of the chronically ill? Milena Pięta, Zuzanna Stanislawska and Sofia Dediulia of Wydział Architektury Politechniki Krakowskiej designed the "Reflections" community hospice and were shortlisted as finalists in an international competition.
Located on the Hel Spit, the hospice is a place dedicated to chronically ill people. The basic idea of the authors of the project was to create a space for bonding and social integration, as well as to provide a safe, intimate place for people in the most difficult moments of their lives.
axonometry
proj.: Milena Pięta, Zuzanna Stanislawska and Sofia Dediulia
space for integration and relaxation
The layout of the building is based on the play between common spaces, located at the entrance, and private spaces, hidden in the secluded depths of the building. The design includes a library, a dining room and a common terrace, where not only patients, but also their visitors can spend time. The library is accompanied by a glassed-in courtyard sprinkled with sand, which is designed for reading and relaxing outdoors. Intimate, intended only for permanent residents of the hospice, are instead a meeting room and a swimming pool. A separate part of the hospice is also occupied by a chapel, to which a symbolic circular path leads.
visualization
proj.: Milena Pięta, Zuzanna Stanislawska and Sofia Dediulia
The design of the hospice could not miss nursing and therapy rooms. These were completely separated from the other spaces to ensure full comfort during individual sessions.
The symbolic and soothing role of water
The authors also noted the important role of water in the design. The hospice, located right on the sea, alludes to the shape of the waves with its rounded body. Maintaining a relationship with the landscape is also ensured by an interior window, which offers a view of the water surface.
To invite diffused, soft light into the interior, glass blocks were used. The rays that trickle through them evoke associations with the surface of the sea and the light refracting on it. This blurs the boundary between outdoor and indoor space. The same effect is also enhanced by the glass facade, which can be fully opened.
visualization
proj.: Milena Pięta, Zuzanna Stanislawska and Sofia Dediulia
The symbolic "Reflections" in the name of the hospice can mean both the reflections of light, scrolling through the various elements of the project, and the reflection that the building allows its target residents to have. It's a beautiful, symbolic design that could become a haven that supports those who are ill during difficult times.
visualizations
designed by Milena Pięta, Zuzanna Stanislawska and Sofia Dediulia
The project by Milena Pięta, Zuzanna Stanislawska and Sofia Dediulia was shortlisted as a finalist in the Hospice - Home for the Terminally ill competition organized by the Buildner platform. Second place in the same competition went to a project by Polish authors Julia Pytko, Maciej Paweł Oberzig and Daniel Piotr Chiłła from Warsaw University of Technology.
