Bsc in architecture project on Warsaw University of Technology - Mateusz Płoszaj-Mazurek
Project abstract
Bicycle traffic is a great ecological alternative for dominant means of transport. Bicycle shelter, located by the route 'Zielona 7' leading from Warsaw to Gdansk, is likely to become an excellent way to promote bicycle traffic. As a location was chosen Kuchary Żydowskie - small recreational locality about 70 kilometers from Warsaw. This distance enables to organize not only long-distance trips along the whole 'Zielona 7' route but also short two-day or weekend trips from Warsaw and back there. Project works were preceded by analysis regarding wanderers, wandering process and places. Wandering is a continuous process of finding a shelter and leaving it. The projected shelter tries to respond to wanderers' needs thanks to appropriate form and functions. Taking into account one of the most important wanderer's needs - the need of being safe - building is shaped to ensure bigger and bigger level of refuge for a wanderer. It is impossible to pass from outside directly to the inside area. Moving across the building is possible in stages by going through stages of successive levels of closing and intimacy. The wooden structure constitutes the element which organizes the spacial arrangement of the building. Half-closed yards are untypical space - the space which, ensuring its users the feeling of safety and refuge, at the same time do not close completely for the surrounding area. The yards are the barrier separating the entrances of individual buildings. The complex of buildings is formed as a structure partially closed. The buildings are located at the edge of the structure, closing it partially but leaving also big spaces open for the surrounding. Ground floor of the building, interior part and exterior part covered by flat roofs are lifted what improves additionally the sense of users' safety. The building, as a whole, has a form of the complex of building covered by pitched roofs connected by flat roofs. The building is adapted to serve both wanderers and cyclists and is also available for disable people.
"Civilization starts with running water" Stanislaw Lem
A wanderer takes only the most important thing with him. His needs are basic. He is looking for protection from wather conditions, a place to cook, a resting area, a place to meet other wanderers, a workshop (if he is using some kind of mechanical vehicle, for example bike) and a shop to replenish his inventory.
A route is not an ordinary road. It has to be selected by someone because of some special characteristics. A wandering is a constant process of exiting the shelter and looking for another one.
The project is located in Kuchary Żydowskie, Poland. It is a small recreational locality situated 70 kilometers away from Warsaw. The location allows for weekend bike trips - from Warsaw to Kuchary Żydowskie, and from Kuchary Żydowskie back to Warsaw.
The main idea about the project is to develop a building structure that blends the wandering process into the building. The structural grid is designed to make the building interior "flow outside".
The timber structural grid is then reorganized to create better functional disposal. The actual building is added. The flat roofs are providing some temporary shelter for wanderers who are not coming inside.
Production process of wooden elements (from planting to placing it on site) is consuming much less energy than reinforced concrete or other standard construction types. Additionally the trees store the CO2 inside them during the growth process. Every wooden building is in fact storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide. The reuse of wooden elements is possible, and is relatively easier than many other materials.
