A graduate of Warsaw University of Technology and a member of the JEMS Architects team, {tag:studenci} decided to attempt to bring the existing post-industrial buildings of the former Bolko cement plant in Opole back to life. Using their massive structures, she shaped the atmosphere of the interiors and surroundings, proposing, among other things, a restaurant, a shopping arcade and a climbing wall.
The presented project is a master's thesis titled The Second Life of the Cement Plant, done under the direction of Grzegorz Rytel and Maciej Miłobędzki.
development plan of the Bolko cement plant area
© Katarzyna Janczura
history of the cement plant
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as many as nine cement plants were established in Opole. Only one is still in operation today - the Odra cement plant. The ruins of the other eight bear witness to the heyday of the European cement industry. The Bolko cement plant is a complex of buildings that operated from 1901-1979, the sixth of its kind in the Opole area. Since the plant's closure, some of the buildings have been demolished, and several have been subjected to attempts at restoration. Unfortunately, they failed - today the buildings are falling into disrepair, providing a grim backdrop to the bustling beach located right next door. In the course of cement production, quite often a side phenomenon arises in the form of a hole in the ground - and literally. These holes meet different fates, some of them are sometimes filled in, overgrown with vegetation, and others are flooded. This was most often the case in Opole, where in just 100 years more than a dozen small bathing places were created, which today attract everyone on hot days," explains Katarzyna Janczura.
A cement packing plant and a storage hall are the buildings that the author developed
© Katarzyna Janczura
Bolko cement plant in a new way
The Bolko cement plant chosen by the author lies above one such bathing area. Catherine's project involves bringing life between the walls of the former production halls. To that end, she made the most of what already exists. The thick walls helped her shape the atmosphere of the interiors, and the unusual proportions provided a pretext for equally unusual solutions.
in the cement packing plant, the architect proposed climbing walls and a gymnasium,
and the warehouse hall is a restaurant
© Katarzyna Janczura
Catherine decided to work out in detail two objects of the complex - the cement packing plant and the brick warehouse hall. As she says, the packing house was formerly used to store bulk products in large concrete silos. These tanks were suspended from massive concrete pillars, providing access to their interiors from both the attic and first floor. At the same time, they were united with the structure of the building, defining its proportions. It was these elements that the architect used for the climbing walls, and turned the attic into a gymnasium. She exposed the first floor with the silo outlets using service spaces connected to a public walkway and market.
cement packing plant, cross-section
© Katarzyna Janczura
restaurant in former warehouse hall
The brick warehouse hall consists of a single-layer shell on a rectangular plan. In the past, the hall was used to store weights that exerted pressure on the outer wall, hence its unusual geometry - the shell is thick and curved.
first floor plan of the storage hall
© Katarzyna Janczura
The architect treated it as a background for the restaurant, inserted into the brick interior as an independent volume. Its space will be able to open or close depending on the weather. The cascading geometry of the restaurant frees up the first floor, whose walls contain openings that reveal the interior of the market.
The interior of the restaurant in the former storage hall
© Katarzyna Janczura
buildings as part of the landscape
I treated the existing buildings as living parts of the landscape. Loosely scattered objects of the cement plant will gradually grow into the green tissue, integrating the whole into the surroundings. Wild greenery surrounding the cement plant facilities will appear in the heart of the complex, turning the main inner courtyard into picturesque, uncluttered gardens. The previously abandoned complex will gain a second life, while providing a natural continuation for the surroundings," concludes Katarzyna Janczura.
In the courtyard, greenery creates picturesque gardens
© Katarzyna Janczura
