Nowy Werdon / Małeccy
Nowy Werdon / Małeccy
Description
The project of the housing complex turned up in our studio as an answer to the call of MGSM cooperative in Ruda Śląska. We were intrigued by the challenge - Ruda Śląska, located only 15 minutes of car ride from the Katowice centre, is well communicated, but pauperised urban complex composed of small towns built for coal miners united into one in twentieth century, Wirek district, characterized by the beautiful neo-gothic church from 1909. Building complex vis-à-vis from the church is called “Werdon”, a name which comes from the residents - battle of Verdun veterans, who settled in the area.
The idea of the first MSGM’s development investment is an act of revitalization of dilapidated by mining damages housing districts, which is very common in SIlesia. Old “familoki”, multi-family houses built for silesian coal miners, didn’t stand the test of time and are not fit for living or renovation anymore, so they had to be demolished and replaced with new buildings.
We were drawn in by this form of architectural acupuncture respecting urban structure and tectonics of existing buildings, but with new quality of space. Moreover existing buildings left a green square, serving as a buffer from 1 Maja street, which we decided to keep while shaping our buildings in a way repeating the arrangement of old ones.
We went for the subtle neogothic loftiness with one ridgepole and ceramic material on the façade, as required by the directives of city monument conservator. We arranged the brick in a modern way, with vertical continuous seaming.
The functional layout was inspired by the english row houses with elongated staircase and three storeys, and that’s where the complex of five row house - like buildings came from, each with its own garage and parking space on the entrance level, living and dining rooms on the first floor and bedrooms on the second.
The living room is accompanied by the vast terrace and little garden with romantic spiral staircases, a reference to silesian tradition of having such spaces near the house.Above there are 2 storeys of apartments - each two-storey with mezzanine, connected to the ground floor with external staircase and elevator.
The building became a kind of aesthetic event in Ruda Śląska - far superior materials, a straightforward and clear idea combined with good quality of urban space raised the bar of design challenges in the city.
