Student participants:
Adam Kovács, Bianka Somkutas, Jan Albert Peřina, Vaclava Kasickova, Tomas Sterančák, Nina Protušová, Piotr Pańczyk, Karolina Kulis, Aleksandra Zielonka
Location: City Beach – Szeląg
The Szeląg city beach has been functioning each summer season and is located at the end of the small Ugora road next to the Wartostrada riverside cycling path. The beach is located on the riverbank abundant in diverse flora and constitutes a habitat of different animal species. Szeląg is an old district of Poznań located on the left bank of the Warta river between the river and the Winiarskie hill. The name comes from Mikołaj Schiling, who in the 16th Century established a folwark in the municipal village of Winiary. In the 19th century, it was one of the most popular places for walks for all of the residents of Poznań.
ORGANIZERS
The Szeląg City Beach is one of the few beaches which enrich the grounds near the Warta river during summer. It operates in the summer holiday season. The Szeląg city beach, for as long as it has existed, namely 3 years, has been managed by the Inbox company .
ACTIVITIES
The greatest potential of Szeląg lies in its nature and local community. The activities organised on the beach are cosy and small-scale, organizators care about the long term social engagement which activates local residents. Community garden and a bread stove built together by the residents, enable the visitors to use these facilities and meet on Szeląg also off-season. This year’s plans include arts and crafts workshops and sports activities with animators, origami class, gardening workshops, ecological workshops .
USERS
The Szeląg City Beach is an atmospheric place visited mostly by families with children, thus most small events are addressed to the younger members of public. Local residents are also the regular visitors of the beach, who get involved in the organisation of activities, they also work on a community garden. season, the City Beach is visited by approximately 18 thousand people.
NEEDS
On the beach grounds there are three containers, a concrete barbecue and a jacuzzi. There are deck chairs and hammocks. In one of the containers there is a food unit with ice cream, waffles and beverages, the second one is where a toilet is located, and the third one is designated for storage and staff room. Due to the very limited space there is no possibility for overnight storage of the furniture.The designed furniture should serve the recreational purposes, and should correspond with the natural environment and the greenery. They could be designed both for individual recreation, as well as for a larger group of users, thus serving the function of integration. The preferred distribution is one of the spot locations, comprising of movable elements the layout of which can be freely modified and adjusted according to needs. These could also be constructions supporting the development of the community garden, suggesting new activities, or enhancing the current conditions upon the agreement of users and caretakers of the community garden.
FINAL RESULTS
Trying to respond to theses issues, the participants have created four pieces of seating – with its form resembling the Amerindian tepee. Three of the constructions were situated on the grass near the building serving ice cream and waffles – the youngest residents’ favourite, while the last one was place on the very shore of the Warta, submerged in meadow flowers. Thanks to the unusual conical shape of the seatings, the residents as well as cyclists using the Wartostrada can find shelter on the beach during the rain. Each piece of furniture has white surface with information for cyclist cautioning them to slow down when approaching the beach, it is also the surface devoted to announcements on upcoming workshops, concerts and meetings taking place on the beach. Moreover, the young architects equipped the furniture in solar-powered lamps which enables the use of furniture also in the evenings.
Tutor: KOGAA - Tom Kozelsky
Architect from Czech Republic
KOGAA was established in 2015 by Alexsandra Georgescu, Tomáš Kozelský and Viktor Odstrčilík.
KOGAA is an international creative agency working across the fields of Architecture, Urban planning, Interior and Product design based in Brno, Czech Republic. KOGAA designs, directs and executes projects from concept through to creation. Thanks to its in-house specialists in engineering and interior design, projects are internally supervised at all times and in all project’s aspects. Operating across many scales, KOGAA’s core ambition that moves each project is to challenge the boundaries of architecture in innovative and unexpected ways, balancing creative excellence with social and technical demands. KOGAA believes in research as an essential design tool, since every project is unique and needs to be approached accordingly to its specific issues. A thorough study on the program, typologies, functions, site and historical background is essential for unique outcomes.