The site of the development can be considered part of the sports and recreation corridor and network that has historically been established in the area. The project envisions continuing to use this area for recreational purposes, while also developing and expanding it by adding new opportunities for relaxation and active recreation. On a city-wide scale, the project leverages its hilltop location to create vantage points offering panoramic views of the city center. The existing topography of the site, characterized by significant elevation changes, presents a unique opportunity to harmoniously integrate a very large university complex into the landscape, within the context of the existing hospital and the adjacent residential district of Pogodno, which we incorporate into the design. The building is situated at the edge of the plot, in the immediate vicinity of the main access route—Unia Lubelska Street.
The project’s functional program is divided between two buildings situated on a shared podium: one for the medical department and the other for the pharmacy departments. The common area on the ground floor creates two possible, dominant user circulation routes—one east-west—which is a functional green corridor allowing, among other things, quick access to vertical circulation to the individual departments on the upper floors. In the southern direction, along the north-south axis, the interior composition recreates, as it were, a reflection of the northern slope, as the amphitheater-like configurations of the lecture halls and the shared student forum with its open, semicircular amphitheater are inclined in this direction. The landscape and greenery beyond the panoramic south window thus become part of the interior of the student forum and auditoriums.
The lower level of the lecture halls and student forum corresponds to the base level of the stadium that was once planned. It is possible to exit directly outdoors from the forum and use the lawn/garden, which allows for year-round sports and recreational activities—such as running, cycling, picnicking, ice skating, and sledding. It is also a space for potential community activities.
By basing the underground sections against the slope, an economical parking layout was achieved on two underground levels with approximately 630 parking spaces without the need for excavation. The ground floor of the building is occupied by common areas—the student forum, lecture halls, locker rooms, a restaurant, a café, quiet study rooms, etc.
The academic and teaching section is spread across three floors in two buildings and is organized in each building around a patio—a courtyard with landscaping. The wings of both buildings, approximately 12 meters wide, are designated for laboratories, while the narrower wings, approximately 7 meters wide, are for office space—administration, assistants’ offices, etc. The central functional wing, with a total width of 2x8m=16m, is designated for ancillary and technical rooms. The general principle of the composition and function of both wings of each building is their adaptability to virtually any possible functional changes during use within the established framework.
The facade of each laboratory and classroom section is functional and modular. Additionally, it is surrounded on three sides by a second “protective” facade layer, which serves, among other things, not only as an acoustic barrier but also as a thermal inertia ventilation space that dissipates heat through the chimney effect in summer and accumulates energy in winter. Frosted blinds reduce the penetration of radiation into the building’s interior. Horizontal cantilevers dividing the floors serve as both relaxation terraces and inter-floor fire barriers. The inner layer of the facade is a wall with windows and will meet all the highest requirements for thermal insulation and solar radiation transmission. Thanks to the economical 1:1 window-to-wall ratio, it is estimated that the total cost of the facade with external cladding made of vitrolite dowels will not exceed that of a typical glass facade. The uniformity of the facade, achieved through the repetitive rhythm of the glass panels, gives the building a technological character consistent with its function and allows it to blend into the surrounding landscape through the interaction of the glass panels’ reflections with external conditions. The structural and formal layout of the building exhibits certain similarities to the form of a chromosome—two organically connected elements dividing into independent organisms, which symbolically refers to the common organization and structure, on both micro and macro scales, of the living world around us and the biological structures of life. Also symbolic is the combination of the Euclidean geometry of the laboratory layout with a “second skin”—“buffers”—featuring the streamlined forms characteristic of organic life forms and organic matter. The facades of the office section along the passageway do not have a second layer of additional glass panels. Thanks to their arched curvature, they functionally allow visual contact between the building’s interior and the entrance area or the Pogodno neighborhood.
Greenery
The project includes a variety of eco-friendly solutions, such as: a high proportion of biologically active and ecologically functional areas, a rainwater retention system with rain gardens, green roofs, and permeable paving. The plant compositions, with a significant proportion of herbaceous plants, will be insect-friendly, especially for pollinators—insect hotels are also proposed for the meadow areas. On the southern side, the design incorporates the characteristic topography along with the existing tree stand. In this section, a green space serving recreational and educational functions has been designed. The plant composition is based on the principles of horticultural therapy, which emphasizes the healing effects of nature on humans. On the lower level, there is a vast grassy area with gentle slopes covered in meadow vegetation, accompanied by small rain gardens in the form of retention ponds that allow water to infiltrate the ground. This is part of a retention system that also includes extensive green roofs.
In the immediate vicinity of the proposed architectural structure, the slope has been terraced, while the remaining portion slopes gently toward the center. The plant layout, in addition to existing trees, the expansive grassy area, and meadow surfaces, includes educational and garden-style arrangements of medicinal plants. On the upper level, sensory gardens are planned to stimulate the human senses through varied experiences of the landscape and nature, including touch (various plant textures), smell (fragrant plants), sight (variety of forms and colors), hearing (the rustling of leaves and grasses), balance (elevations, slopes), and so-called deep sensation—proprioception (muscle awareness through movement). The planned tree arrangements complement the existing tree stand and highlight the site’s unique topography. Another important aspect is ensuring close contact with vegetation for people inside the building. This is guaranteed by numerous patios (two on the ground floor and four on the upper floors) as well as three “green skylights” designed as garden spaces with lush plantings.