urban infill

urban infill on the Savior Square in Warsaw

bachelor diploma project
8 semester, 2022

Faculty of Architecture, Warsaw University of Technology
supervisor - Paweł Grodzicki

location

This project aims to fill the gap in the frontage of the square and complete the historical urban plan – Stanislavian Axis, where it is located. It consists of five star-shaped squares which formed and defined Warsaw's midtown area. The theme of the thesis raises the subject of a very current matter of filling the gaps of urban fabric in order to condense the city as opposed to spreading it over its perimeter.

The building serves as a pavillion for social initiatives where different organisations have the opportunity for a dialogue with the communities. Due to such distinctive location and peculiar plot, the building is considered to be an urban event, a spacial sculpture which offers various visual experience when observed from different angles.

view of the building from the Savior Square

view of the building from the inner courtyard

site development plan

the idea

„We meet a building, we approach it, confronting it; it creates a relationship with our body, as we move around. Architecture is an initiation, it directs and organises our behaviours and movements. A building is not an end in itself; it embraces, articulates, structures, gives meaning, creates relationships, separates and connects, facilitates and prohibits.”

„The Eyes of the Skin”
Juhani Pallasmaa

Thanks to the creases in the geometry of the walls the observer is able to see the depth of the plot. Moreover the curvatures, almost like scenography, infuence peoples’ behaviour and movement which determine the building’s programme. The project touches on aspects of architecture which go beyond its form, indicating the potential of creating social and spatial phenomena.