Work submitted for the competition
"Best Diploma Architecture"
The presented design of the town house, located in the North Downtown area of Warsaw, at 10 Aleksandra Fredry Street, is the result of analyses and studies on how to shape the floor plans of apartments and search for layouts that are original and yet easy to modify. The historical context of the place, with the Saxon Garden at the forefront, had a great influence on the work.
elevation visualization
© Hubert Przybyszewski
about the project and the design process
The whole process unfolded into two main parts: the context and the idea of the townhouse itself. They were developed in parallel and overlapped with each other. In the case of the Alexander Fredro Street area, the question of context, both urban, architectural and historical, was insanely important. I collected archival photos, engravings and plans. The wounds that remain unhealed to this day needed to be filled with something; the question arose as to what this binder should be, what material it should be made of and what character it should have so that the rest of the organism would accept the new element as well as possible.
axonometry of the situation
© Hubert Przybyszewski
The second part was to work on the clou of this project, the residential floors. The shape of the plot and the neighborhood offering extremely attractive frames - elements of the aforementioned context - influenced the shaping of the units. I was keen that upon entering them one should be able to see what is most important in this location, namely the Saski Garden. In this way, the premises were set on a spine threaded with a viewing axis leading directly from the front door.
projection,idea
© Hubert Przybyszewski
The two parts of the work were united by the exploration phase, which, due to the unusual conditions of the plot, focused mainly on buildings similar in typology to profitable, urban houses. During this research, a number of analyses of the compositional arrangements of the projections were made, which yielded interesting information and conclusions.
projection of a repeated storey
© Hubert Przybyszewski
As befits a real city house, we are not dealing here with only one function. Of course, there are mainly units that can be apartments, but their structure, the format of the rooms and the relationship between them are conducive to accommodating, for example, a design studio or a law office. I have suggested apartments by default, since there is currently not a single residential house on the entire Fredry Street. Mixing functions in the city center is important both on a micro (one building) and macro scale. The share of residential development, on the other hand, is the most important element of a vibrant and healthy urban fabric.
facades
© Hubert Przybyszewski
The apartments were built on the aforementioned viewing axis. Superimposed on it is a sequence of an atrium, a central hall and a front room. The shape of the halls themselves is slightly elongated, so that we are intuitively directed towards the park. By default, I envisioned a dining function in the lobby. From here, we branch out towards further parts of the apartment.
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hall, idea
© Hubert Przybyszewski
Due to the central location of the lobby, the paths of movement of individual users intersect here. It becomes a place for momentary daily meetings or shared meals of the whole family - residents come from different parts and feast in the heart of their home. By its close proximity to the entrance, it is also a convenient place to receive guests, in an informal as well as more formal way. The unconventional arrangement of the rooms in relation to each other results in the formation of interesting perspectives, which are practically always terminated by a window or loggia, which would not actually be possible with a standard layout.
left: hallway; right: amphitheatre
© Hubert Przybyszewski
In the case of buildings located in the city, the contact with the environment is very important. That's why the first floor, facing the garden and the street, includes two spacious commercial premises, which enrich the offer for residents of the neighborhood. Contrary to appearances, it is quite scarce here. It would be an attractor for both the street and the garden, where tables of gastronomy could stand. In addition, on the side of the semi-open green courtyard, a small premises intended by default for social purposes, where the residents of the house could create an intimate neighborhood club, has found its place. The result is a structure that opens as much as possible in the ground floor to the city, while above it offers implicitly residential premises that adapt to other functions as needed.
Hubert PRZYBYSZEWSKI
Illustrations: © Author
