Court of Appeals and the Mazovian Regional Assembly in Warsaw
P2PA, 2022
award: honourary mention
type: competition entry for the extension of the Court of Justice in Warsaw
collaboration: Aleksander Blicharski, Paweł Floryn, Łukasz Kaczmarek, Jakub Podgórski and Maciej Popławski
visualizations: Piotr Banak
responsibilities: drawing landscape plans, drawing building sections
The historically shaped character of the power building is a pattern of an object dominating and emphasizing social hierarchy and towering over neighbouring buildings. The designed complex of buildings departs from such manifestation in an effort to create an open and friendly urban space. The buildings blend into the surrounding building a relationship and harmony with the neighbouring Supreme Court building. At the same time, through the architectural means used, the buildings of the Province and the Court of Appeals maintained the appropriate seriousness and restraint appropriate for buildings of this stature.
A balanced approach to urban development that is coherent and attentive to the comfort of the resident realizes its demands not only on a large urban scale but also on the scale of a single development. Building a space that is functional, but also comfortable and friendly, requires that all its components meet these requirements. The designed facilities are not closed and do not work inward. They are designed to be open, creating a new space with a public character. The proposed green garden, acting as an internal walkway, provides biodiversity enrichment and contributes to building an appropriate climate.
The concept combines the assumptions of building a public facility open and inscribed in the surrounding space, sustainable development of the city, as well as the design considerations of the plot. The neighbourhood of the Supreme Court building provides an excuse for the creation of a complex of public facilities, while the elongated design plot and the location of the Court of Appeals in its depth require finding a solution to ensure good access to it.
In order to comprehensively respond to the requirements, a walkway was introduced through the body of the Provincial building, which was given the character of a natural garden. It was led from the side of Swietojerska Street through a gateway passage referring to a similar solution in the neighbouring Supreme Court building. The passageway leads by wide stairs inscribed in natural greenery to the Court of Appeals, located deep inside the plot. The solution used refers to the classical architecture of public buildings but enters into a polemic with it by immersing the stairs in the greenery spilling out of the building's courtyard. The garden was located above the Assembly Hall, symbolically located in the centre of the building. The Court of Appeals building, located at the end of the walkway axis, was also based on a strong and simple premise, building it around a central core containing the courtrooms within.
The green walkway creates a garden in the centre of the Provincial building, an enclave in the downtown development. The landscape enters through shaped gates and openings, drawing users into the interior, where the perception of the building changes. The composition and selection of vegetation, the introduction of small ponds, or the natural, permeable surface shape the microclimate of the courtyard. It becomes a place of respite for users, provides a high level of biodiversity, affects air quality and maximizes the natural illumination of rooms increasing the ecological value of the site.