Every year the mayor of Gliwice awards prizes for the best thesis on Gliwice. In the 16th edition of the competition, four projects were awarded, and among them was the engineering thesis of Patrycja Bartos from the Silesian University of Technology. The student proposed a complex of residential and commercial buildings with green roofs and developed the Klodnica waterfront, proposing attractive public spaces.
At the end of 2021, the winners of the 16th edition of the competition for the best thesis on Gliwice were announced. They were looking for bachelor's, engineering, master's or doctoral theses that could be used to promote the city. Gliwice Mayor Adam Neumann decided to award four equivalent distinctions. They were awarded to: Ewa Wandel, Jan Nagel, Natan Maszlakiewicz and Patrycja Bartos.
The author proposed buildings with commercial premises and apartments
© Patrycja Bartos
complementing the fabric of the city
The subject of the award-winning engineering project by Patrycja Bartos, made under the direction of Dr. Tomasz Bradecki, is the concept of a complex of residential and commercial buildings along with land development in Wybrzeże Armii Krajowej Street in Gliwice. The student chose a rectangular plot of land located between Wybrzeże Armii Krajowej Street and Przyjaźni Avenue. This area is one of the few undeveloped plots located in the very center of Gliwice.
The project complements the fabric of the city and builds a connection to the waterfront
© Patrycja Bartos
The author's most important design goal was to create visual continuity of the landscape and complement the fabric of the city by linking the proposed development to the immediate surroundings. Patrycja referred to the architecture, urban layout and existing pedestrian routes, so that the proposed new development corresponds with the existing one. For the author, it was equally important to design a place that would enrich the functional and utilitarian possibilities of the neighborhood, as well as provide a new destination point on the city map. Another consideration was to propose attractive public spaces that engage the Klodnica waterfront.
The project is two diagonally truncated quarters of development
© Patrycja Bartos
woonerf in the center of Gliwice
Within the study area, the author proposed two diagonally tr uncated quarters of development - a five-story one on the south side and a three-story one on the north side, and preserved the existing access roads, from which she designed exits to the underground parking located under the entire area.
Public spaces are an important element of the project
© Patrycja Bartos
A section of the street Nabrzeże Armii Krajowej was transformed into a woonerf. The student also took care of the composition - the closure of Friendship Avenue is a square formed at the intersection of several pedestrian routes, located near the entrance to Chopin Park. Introduced small architecture in the form of seats designed in the form of triangles, refers to the way of shaping the space - a triangular square and development - diagonally truncated building quarters.
On the first floor of the buildings there are service premises
© Patrycja Bartos
downtown mixed-use
Given the location of the buildings, the functional program assumes typical downtown mixed-use, which includes services located on the first floors - retail and catering. Above, the author has placed three types of apartments - two-room apartments with light on one side, four-room apartments with light on both sides, and four- and five-room corner apartments. There are also office spaces in the eastern part of the larger quarter.
There are apartments on the floors, and the buildings are covered by green roofs
© Patrycja Bartos
The concept is based on the contrast of the shape of the development in relation to the immediate surroundings and the opening of the plot to the Klodnica waterfront. Two expressive quarters with an irregular, trapezoidal plan, converge towards Friendship Avenue and Chudoba Street. From this side, they form a compact frontage characteristic of downtown Gliwice and constitute a compositional closure of the street axis," explains the author.
urban silhouette
© Patrycja Bartos
new footbridge and waterfront development
The quarters divide the space into two types - public and semi-public, which are inner courtyards. Looking from the side of the Klodnica River, the buildings move away from each other, thus creating an open space. This space is a foreground for the waterfront and is a mirror image of Doncaster Square, located on the other side of the river. The student connected these two open spaces with a new footbridge and proposed development of the waterfront, creating a focal point for the entire design concept.
functional division of the space
© Patrycja Bartos
On the other hand, the diagonal truncation of the buildings is intended to smoothly connect the different types of development - compact, several-story buildings on the side of Zwycięstwa Street and low, dispersed buildings on the side of Chopin Park. The truncation of the roof "opens" the buildings to the river and exposes the terraces facing southwest. The use of clinker brick on the facade is a reference to the surrounding buildings and visually merges the newly designed development with the existing architecture of Gliwice.
Clinker brick refers to traditional Silesian architecture
© Patrycja Bartos
reference to park character
The neighborhood of Chopin Park and the strolling avenue running towards Piłsudski Square and the market square, as well as the existing greenery, makes the place I designed an extension of this park character, says Patrycja.
The proposed green inner courtyards, as well as the central square in the form of a small park, are in keeping with the character of the surroundings. In addition, the author designed green roofs, thus increasing the biologically active area, as well as the retention of rainwater.
