Atelier Starzak Strebicki

Conceptual design for university campus extension

The campus extension in Wrocław is in fact a development proposal for the entire area. We design two new buildings of mixed uses and complete the site with common open spaces of different typologies, which allow a variety of views and possible functions.

The first building consists of offices on the ground floor and student housing on the floors above. It is located near the main university building and linked to it – and at the same time discretely separated from it – by a partially enclosed green corridor. The second building consists of a ground floor with service and retail premises, above which two office floors are located. The highest two levels are planned as additional student housing units. The stepped form of this building allows to design terraces on each level as well as to maximise sunlight access on the top floors.

Parking spaces are designed underground in order to free up maximum area for common use. Three typologies of open spaces are proposed. First, there is a representative and organised open square located between the university and the new stepped building. It serves as a space for meetings, rest, events or outdoor classes. The second type is the green corridor in front of the student housing, where more loosely growing plants are introduced. This corridor is also a connection between the open square and the third type of a common space – the park in which greenery can grow naturally and freely. It’s a zone for rest, sports or relaxation.

The last part of the project was a redesign concept for a façade of another student housing building. We propose a continuous balcony with stone finishing along the first floor, serving also as a canopy for the entrances. Dark window frames and white plaster on the floors above complete the façade as an elegant and simple, yet characteristic concept.