LAND USE
The site of the planned prosecutor’s office headquarters in Katowice comprises plots No. 15/18 and 13/43, with a total area of approximately 3.5 hectares, located in the northern part of Katowice near the entrance to the city via the Drogowa Trasa Średnicowa (Nikodem and Józef Renców Route) from the direction of Świętochłowice. This is an undeveloped area, mostly covered with trees, primarily birch groves. The nearest public transportation stops are located on the southern side of the site
— on Gliwicka Street (tram stops) and at the intersection of Gliwicka Street and Jana Pawła II Street (bus stops).
Entrances and exits, layout of internal roads, paths, and sidewalks
Entrances to the site are planned on the eastern side from Gliwicka Street (from the south) and on the western side from the service road along Trasa Renców (from the north). The building complex is located in the central part of plot no. 13/43. Internal roads have been designed around the building to provide access to: the entrance area in front of the main entrance on the north side of the building, the secure zone, entrances to the underground garage, the service area on the west side (deliveries, waste removal, etc.), and a route around the building, as well as 110 parking spaces for passenger cars and 50 bicycle parking spots near the building entrances. This ensures: access deep into the plot, to the garage, and an entrance for convoys transporting detainees to ensure the safety of people and property, all with strict control of vehicles entering and exiting. The required 580 parking spaces were designed on the site, 470 of which are in the underground garage within the building complex. Necessary sidewalks were planned to ensure access for pedestrians arriving at the prosecutor’s office via public transportation, as well as themed park paths among the existing groves.
Full Rainwater Retention
A system has been designed to retain all rainwater within the development site, including retention basins and bioretention ponds, as well as micro- and macro-scale rain gardens, supplemented by a system of landscape retention ponds and retention boxes to collect water during heavy rainfall. The retained water is then released into the atmosphere through evaporation; it is absorbed by the vegetation of the bioretention ponds and the surfaces of the rain gardens and ponds, and is also used for watering green areas and for utility purposes.
Blue-green infrastructure landscape, biodiversity, forest park
Existing tree stands, preserved to the greatest extent possible, a landscape-based bioretention system, rain gardens, new tree plantings, shrubs, and low vegetation—including fragrant flowering shrubs and flowers—that ensure biodiversity, arranged in the form of thematic paths and landscape features, create a people-friendly landscape in our design, appropriately organizing conditions for work and reflection on work, as well as the necessary spiritual rest and space for renewal. The forest park we have created in this way will also provide adequate acoustic comfort for the complex of prosecutor’s office buildings in relation to the Cross-City Highway and other sources of noise.
SYMBOLISM, FORM, AND FUNCTION
Our design combines the symbolism of a transparent and predictable legal institution with the symbolism of respect and security inherent in a state institution. The restrained ground floor space is majestically horizontal and, serving as both a compositional and symbolic foundation, houses, among others, the National Prosecutor’s Office, as well as the complex’s public-access functions, appropriately separated from it. Three geometrically restrained buildings, each with different proportions, stand on this horizontal base and house, respectively: the Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the District Prosecutor’s Office, and the Local Prosecutor’s Offices (East, West, North, and South). Oriented in different directions, the three buildings metaphorically open up to the world and the surrounding area, each from a different perspective. In the entrance area, these three buildings overhang the ground floor base, creating a safe, covered forecourt for the driveway and entrance. This sculptural arrangement of the four prosecutor’s office buildings, open to the world and firmly and harmoniously embedded in the surrounding landscape, creates a fitting and powerful symbolism for these institutions. The rational functional layout and the form of the buildings coexist and harmoniously contribute to this symbolism on an architectural level. The roofs of each prosecutor’s office building and the ground-floor roof terraces are covered with landscaped greenery that retains moisture and captures rainfall. So-called “graywater” from sinks and showers is also used for their irrigation, following appropriate pretreatment. It is also possible to install photovoltaic panels on the roofs to reduce primary energy consumption. Landscaped roofs and terraces help the buildings blend seamlessly into the surrounding landscape.
Functional Solutions
Ground Floor. The main lobby, open to the public, connects and organizes the public entrances to all four Prosecutor’s Office complexes, as well as to common areas and facilities generally accessible to both the public and Prosecutor’s Office staff—such as the reception desks of each Prosecutor’s Office, libraries, meeting rooms, a conference room, and a food service area. In the western part of the main lobby is the entrance to the District Prosecutor’s Office; in the eastern part, to the Regional Prosecutor’s Office; and in the central part of the lobby are visitor rooms and two pass offices —in accordance with the functional and operational plan, respectively: the pass office of the National and Regional Prosecutor’s Offices, and the pass office of the District Prosecutor’s Office and District Prosecutor’s Offices. The central part of the lobby also houses entrances to: the National Prosecutor’s Office, and four District Prosecutor’s Offices (East, West, North, and South). In addition, the National Prosecutor’s Office may also be accessed, as needed, via a second emergency entrance/exit located on the south side, which, depending on requirements, may be situated within a specially protected zone expanded for this purpose. The specially protected zone is located in the southeastern part of the building complex. The ground floor of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office section houses, among other things, interrogation rooms, identification rooms, detention rooms, and the Regional Prosecutor’s Office Secretariat. Also on the ground floor, in the western part of the building complex belonging to the District Prosecutor’s Office, is the District Prosecutor’s Office Archive—Part One, while Part Two of the Archive is located on Level -1 along with technical rooms, UPS rooms, LAN rooms, storage areas, garage bays, and other rooms. Taking into account the provisions of the local zoning plan, and particularly the requirement to preserve at least 25% of the site as biologically active space and the requirement to preserve as many of the existing trees on the development site as possible, we decided to locate 470 parking spaces in a two-story underground multi-space garage situated beneath the building complex. This garage also includes 14 parking spaces in separate garage bays on level -1. This solution is beneficial for the complex’s operation and security, offering significant flexibility in establishing or later modifying access control zones within the underground garage space. In addition to the parking spaces, the underground section houses part of the archive as well as technical and storage rooms serving the entire building. Two entrances to the underground garage have been designed: one on the east side and one on the west side of the complex.
Accessibility for People with Disabilities
The entire complex has been designed to be accessible to people with disabilities; all underground and above-ground levels will be accessible via elevators, restrooms accessible to people with disabilities will be located on all usable floors, and rooms on all floors will be appropriately equipped with doors of the required width and functionality.