137kilo + WWAA: SDK sluzewiecki house of culture

137kilo’s SDK sluzewieckiego domu kultury honors rural historyimage © 137kilo + WWAAall images courtesy of 137kilo and WWAA

built on a narrow strip of land remaining amidst 1970s developments, 137kilo and WWAA have designed a renovation of ‘służewieckiego domu kultury’ (SDK) in a way that maintains the original center’s humble nature, but greatly expands its program and accessibility — creating a hub for music, art, education, technology, and ecology. the site’s agricultural history, the existing eco-farm, and local code restricting the height to six meters drove the design. before the urban development encroached on the landscape, it was dominated by farms and individual houses. emphasizing the importance of its agrarian past, the petting zoo has been moved to the heart of the project and surrounded by constructs resembling former local dwellings. voluminous program such as the concert hall, rehearsal rooms, and audio-visual labs sink into the earth to reduce their visual impact. smaller homestead-like structures rise out of the ground enclosing each program individually. although the design generally employs traditional materials, several glass walls reveal the activity within, and open views to the neighboring służewiecki stream, re-connecting the center with its history and context.

the above-ground structures are reminiscent of children’s iconography and traditional homesteadsimage © 137kilo + WWAA

encouraging pedestrian access, and creating a place of outdoor refuge and communal activity, a walkway leads from adjacent apartment blocks to the cultural center. to accommodate vehicular access, 50 parking spaces are distributed along bacha street and in a lot on the north side of the site. in contrast to transparent public facades, the solid wall of the concert hall and site grading hide the parking lot from the view of the main entrance. to encourage bicycle traffic, the project is located close to an existing path. the design also includes a new bikeway on the west side of the site, which leads to a campfire area and a wetland boardwalk developed to encourage visitors to venture into the landscape. further connection to the environment is illustrated in the application of solar panels and wind turbines as energy sources. the intention is to effect the consideration of aesthetics and ecology of nature in an urban context.

windmills supplement power supplied to the facilitiesimage © 137kilo + WWAA

boardwalks through the wetlands encourage visitors to interact with the landscapeimage © 137kilo + WWAA

boardwalks through the wetlands encourage visitors to interact with the landscapeimage © 137kilo + WWAA

the majority of the activity at the culture center happen underground, but are accessed from the groundplaneimage © 137kilo + WWAA

culture center under constructionimage © 137kilo + WWAA

detail of foundation wall systemimage © 137kilo + WWAA

the petting zoo under constructionimage © 137kilo + WWAA

the eco farm area is the only part of the site that is fenced off from free pedestrian accessimage © 137kilo + WWAA

inside the theatre, the finish emulates terrestrial strata image © 137kilo + WWAA

the design juxtaposes the tectonics of an agricultural community with high-rise urban developmentsimage © wojciech piwowarczyk

the subterranean entry to the culture center is accessed by a series of stairs that creates an outdoors amphiteatre where visitors can relax before and after activities. it also bisects the program, allowing construction to be completed in two phasesimage © wojciech piwowarczyk

the main lobby is partially lit by skylights which become landscape features above groundimage © wojciech piwowarczyk

model photomodel © kuba morkowski + adam perka

137kilo’s sluzewieckiego domu kultury honors rural historyimage © wojciech piwowarczyk

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project info:

project title: sluzewski cultural center architects: 137kilo architects and wwa architectsentry:  competition entry + built workdate:  november 2008 – 2012team:  natalia paszkowska (wwa architects), marcin mostafa (wwa architects), jan sukiennik (137kilo architects), maciej kleszczewski, anna zawadzka, mikołaj molenda, wojciech piwowarczyk (renders), kuba morkowski + adam perka (arch model)program:  petting zoo, children’s garden, auditorium, dressing rooms, storage, cloakroom, bathrooms, open-air amphitheatre, rehearsal rooms, audio-visual lab, art studios, gallery, reading room, cafe, education facilities, meeting rooms, administrative offices, waiting room, archives, technical rooms