The results of the competition for the conceptual design of the viewing platform together with the descent to the “Dubai beach” in Jarosławiec have been announced. First place was won by the proposal of the RESTUDIO studio, second place went to architects from the SANECCY office. Now we focus on the concept, which won third place. Its authors are Paweł Barczyk and Andrzej Duda.
“Beach Dubai” in Jarosławiec is a 5 hectare artificial beach completed in 2018. It was created to protect the high cliff from a landslide. The place is popular with tourists, wanting to ensure that they can safely reach the beach area Postomino Municipality announced a competition, the results of which were announced on 11 July.
The area where the platform is to be built is located in the Protected Landscape Area “Pas Pobrzeże na Zachód od Ustki”. The idea to build it is quite a creative and construction challenge, but it is also a chance to create a new iconic tourist attraction that will be remembered by visitors to the site. The architects had a lot of design freedom. The natural beauty of the cliff, the imposing scale of the artificial beach and the functional-utility needs became the main factors influencing the design decisions.
The need to protect the natural qualities and vegetation of the cliff led us to look for solutions that would allow the structure to have as little contact with the terrain as possible and to locate it in areas already invested, requiring only adaptation or redevelopment, leaving much of the area to be developed in its original form with natural vegetation. The planned construction, despite the large desirable usable area of terraces, wide accesses and descents to the beach, has a building area of approximately 510 m². However, due to the spatial and structural solutions used, its direct support and foundation (interference with the terrain) was limited to approximately 110 m², explain architects Paweł Barczyk and Andrzej Duda.
In order to minimise interference with the site, the architects planned to preserve the existing old trees. Their layout will be complemented by new plantings. Their arrangement is intended to create a green crown umbrella over most of the square and provide shade in summer. The simple plaster form of the building will be broken only by wooden entrance arcades. The majority of the square will be leisure lawns. The only paved surface will be a 6.6-metre-wide path made of polished concrete. In the architects’ concept, the path leads from the street directly to the main viewing platform. Benches and a fountain with filtered drinking water have been placed on it. Viewing points were designed right at the edge of the cliff. They are protected by railings.
The main load-bearing element of the viewing platform is a concrete pillar founded on piles. Inside it will be a lift shaft. The lift will be able to carry up to 53 people at a time. This pillar provides support for monolithic reinforced concrete beams approximately 4.6 m high.
A new promenade is planned at the base of the cliff in the form of a concrete plane for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The promenade will integrate and run along the existing concrete retaining wall protecting the cliff. Existing descents will also be used. The promenade is designed as a 4-metre strip, with local widening (access to the toilet at the foot of the cliff) and a mini-terrace at the descent to beach No. 4. At the end of the promenade, an additional platform with a maximum gradient of 6% is planned to allow access for people with disabilities. Along the entire promenade, several seats made of treated wooden logs are located. From the promenade at Exit 5, access to a lift will be provided to enable people to climb the 17 m cliff elevation without any problems.
The concept plans to use environmentally friendly and energy-efficient solutions. Local materials (mainly concrete and aggregates) are to be used for construction, removing the need for transport from distant areas. The durability of the construction is to reduce the need for repairs. Rainwater is to be collected in a special tank to be used for watering plants and lawns in the square. These are just some of the planned solutions.
The jury of the SARP competition awarded the architects the third prize for: a distinctive and at the same time controversial creation of a memorable, ascetic artistic form that could be the icon-symbol of the village, with a very well-developed public area and negligible interference with the geometry of the cliff. A spatial dominant effect was appropriately achieved with minimal means of expression. The court found inappropriate the use of a lift as the only form of communication for the disabled and the stair geometry used.
design: arch. Paweł Barczyk and arch. Andrzej Duda from Gliwice(www.pawelbarczyk.pl)
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