Pencil and Crayon in Wrocław. History of the famous dormitory

Rooms on the top floors were once the dream of many students. Ołówek i Kredka in Wrocław is a dormitory that consists of two high-rise buildings. The complex was built just before the fall of communist Poland.

The two high-rise buildings were designed by Krystyna and Marian Barski. The architect couple designed modernist buildings in a style popular for the previous era. They began work on the dormitories as early as the 1970s and completed the project after seven years of work in 1982. Their concept was to construct two tall buildings, which would be flanked by pyramidal finials. It was the slender appearance and pointed finial that led residents to refer to the buildings as ‘Pencil’ and ‘Crayon’.

The skyscraper complex is located in an attractive location close to the centre – at 30 Grunwaldzki Square and 69 Grunwaldzka Street. The lower one is “Ołówek” and is 70 m high. The ‘Chalk’, on the other hand, is 85 m high to the roof. The former has 19 and the latter 23 storeys. This is a considerable height, so that students could enjoy a panoramic view of the entire city from the top floors.

In the lower part, 236 rooms have been designed. In the upper part, there are 290. The quarters are similar to each other, having been designed in a modular construction. One such module consists of two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom.

In ‘Kredka’, service spaces have been designed on the ground and first floors. A medical clinic has been opened there. The fifteenth floor also has a different function – a multifunctional room was created there, which initially functioned as a television room. In addition, a gym, a study room and a (now closed) clubhouse were opened on this floor.

Although the design of the rooms in the high-rise buildings has stopped at the standard of the early 1990s, the buildings still attract students and are among the most distinctive in Wrocław.

Today, there are radio and television masts on the roof of the taller building.

source: University of Wrocław

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