Industry in the city – ecological hybrid
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
How can Industry change degraded part of the city into its heart?
multidimensionally
L01_CLOSED CIRCUIT; creating a closed circuit of energy, heat, water and raw materials
L02_HYBRID; adding complementary functions, that answers the needs of people and humanizing the space, and eliminate industry nuisance
L03_ECOLOGY; recreating ecological and communication connections interrupted by mega-scale mono-functional industrial areas
L04_BEAUTY; creating domiciled, beautiful spaces for people
Geographical Scope
Project Region
Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
Which funds
Year
Description of the project
Summary
INTRODUCTION
The area of Foundry is located in the inconvenient neighborhood. Long distance between it and downtown is the key factor which causes that place is uninteresting to visit.
Thereby the location is the value which provides the potential of development, owes this to the near distance to Kampinos National Park or connection with highways.
IDEA
The first axis is the natural extension of Kasprowicza Street, which contains all major attributes such as already existing metro or bus stops and shopping center. This axis has strong commercial potential that could be continued all over the district.
The other axis has its roots in Łosiowe Błota Nature Reserve and heads into of Brühl Palace ,and goes up to Vistula river. The character of that path is less formal and more casual.
The third axis is the green one. Campinos National Park, Łosiowe Błota Nature Reserve and already existing ecological corridors are not connected now. Planting greenery in both directions - on both axis north-south and east-west provide continuity.
The foundation of the idea is to maximize all given benefits and enhance the use of those precious parcels. Hence core value is an implementation of a so-called closed circuit, the purpose of which is to become an independent unit, ranging from energy self-sufficiency ending up entertainment and leisure.
Another core pillar is mixing as many functions possible into one, to provide escalation of efficiency of every parcel and to raise the appeal of the site. Thee distinct levels divide and unite in one fell swoop. Foundry is the lowest, housing is in the middle part and the top part forms municipal boulevard. Distribution of functions helps to avoid chaos in public and private spaces and compounding merits of each one.
Key objectives for sustainability
The working foundry produces high energetic surpluses daily. Up to now, the heat generated during the process is wasted. Using those surpluses to make some of the newly designed buildings independent, energy and financial losses, could be easily avoided. The waterpark is a public service that can benefit from this solution, as the heat surpluses can heat up water up to 60 degrees.
PV panels placed on the eastern stock cubes' roofs are a second energy source in a closed circuit. The aggregate area of solar panels could energize half of the demand for the settlement (including housing area, aquapark and other functions).
The crucial role of workshops is steel processing, used on-site to build e.g., residential units. Thanks to the modular structure of the grid, the area of the workshops could be shaped freely and fast. Accordingly, to the necessity of a number of workshops, the number could increase or decrease. The diversification of workshops’ sizes allows producing both spans, and small prefab elements.
Housing is another element of the closed circuit. Thanks to the regular grid, prefabs can be done in workshops and used efficiently on site.
Recycling is present in the boulevard. It catches rainwater and is responsible for water retention, which strongly corresponds with the next, sixth element of the closed-circuit - sewage treatment plant.
Rainwater, collected on the boulevard, flows down between blocks of apartments, finishing in a big water collector. After water accumulates and reaches the pond, it goes over cane ground. The bacteria cause the decomposition of organic substances contained in wastewater. Water after this process is clear and could be reused again.
In the close neighbourhood, there are several landfills. After initial segregation, garbage could be transported to recycling spots and afterwards be processed into new material.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
Fist and lowest layer includes industrial functions such as foundry, magazines, infrastructure, workshops. It is the loudest layer because the noise near the industrial area is the most apparent, which is similar to the frequency in the city centre, it made an excuse to elevate the city on the Brühl axis.
The middle layer is the municipal part. The communication is civic, leads to areas under housing such as park lots, sports halls and pitches or common spaces, as a market. This layer is an additional buffer between the lower, which produces noise and the upper layer, which is recreational. The Brühl street is multidimensional – once it works as a normal communication, and second as a playground - so this street is used temporarily and by mixing functions could be used round-the-clock.
The last layers are the cosiest ones. The boulevard, the local centre, is connecting all spots in the area. From there, it is easy to access all facilities like waterpark, pitches, museum of the Huta, with adapted chimneys as bungee, swings, elevators.
On the western part of the axis, there is access to housing, which by this perspective appears as architecture surrounded by greenery. To generate diversity, the basic module is a single cube. Multiplication of it can easily transform from one story flat into five or even a tower. Discretion is unlimited, and it leads to higher buildings in the vicinity of the boulevard, to cosy, small single-family houses near the woods. All supply functions hide into two levels beneath the boulevard, and on the surface, the only tower remains visible. From the perspective of the boulevard, it is seen as middle-height, human-scale architecture.
On the eastern part, there are peaks of workshops slowly heading down the stock, showing a beautiful panorama of the capital city. On the sheer part of the hill, there is a way to ski in the winter and bike race all way down - the only opportunity in Warsaw.
Key objectives for inclusion
The existence of a workshop, as mentioned before, is a crucial element of the master plan of Huta Warszawska. It contributes to processes of forming social bondages, due to the diversified scale of workshops. The grid enables the creation of big workshops, that have an industrial role, but also medium and small ones, which serves for private, personal, hobby purposes.
The concept of the grid and modularity had an impact on hosing units, too. As the majority of units are built on-site, with prefabricated elements, not only the diversification of architecture will occur, but also lower, more attractive prices. The flexibility and density are adjustable according to the needs of residents.
As the system of heat recovery of the Foundry is foreseen, it can cover in major part the energy demand of housing units, and public services such as waterpark. This dualistic approach is also visible in the treatment of exited buildings or infrastructure. The old post-industrial buildings serve as a Museum of Huta, roads when are not used at certain times of the day can serve as the playground and sloping hill between the workshop during winter is a ski slope, and during the summer, the oblique surface transforms into an open-air cinema.
The last element of this humanistic approach is the Boulevard – the municipal axis, on the highest point of the site. It is not only the local centre, but it is a main public passage, where people are able to spend time or encounter.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
The holistic approach of the proposal guarantees the completeness of the project. Environmental sustainability, aesthetics, and beauty mix with the concept of inclusion.
The most important element of the masterplan, which is the catalyzer of development is a grid and workshops. Although this is the purely functionalist element of the projects, it creates a possibility to be used and perceived as a holistic organism. First, it is a place of production modular elements required on a building site, Secondly, the modularity and flexibility of the 8x8 grid make possible the option to create many units, which will impact on big diversification from an architectural point of view. As the whole process of production and building is related to the needs of inhabitants, their presence has s crucial role in a process of design.
Huta Warszawska is an infrastructure that produces a lot of wasted energy. The project foresaw the second life to this heat energy. As mentioned, energy surpluses are able to heat up the tap water to 60 degrees. But not only the energy is second-handed, but post-industrial buildings and infrastructure also have a significant role in the heritage of Warsaw, the contextuality is reflected in the new project.
