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The Institute for the Deaf at pl. Trzech Krzyży in Warsaw will undergo modernisation

The Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, located at Plac Trzech Krzyży in Warsaw, will undergo modernisation. The investment will allow the centre’s children and pupils to be provided with modern, tailored learning and living conditions. The Capital City Development Authority has announced a tender for the renovation of the facility and is waiting for bids. The deadline for their submission is 3 June.

The institute, designed for children and young people with hearing impairments, provides activities ranging from early childhood development support, pre-school, school, high school and vocational school. When the work is completed, a primary school with pre-school departments, a general secondary school, a technical school, a vocational school, a vocational training school and a boarding school will continue to operate in the building with a floor space of approximately 5,000 square metres.

The Institute’s headquarters at Plac Trzech Krzyży. Photo Wistula, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Students will be able to develop their interests and talents in specialised ateliers located in the hitherto undeveloped, vast attic. These will include studios for ZPT, art, catering, baking and a recording studio. There will also be rooms for physical activities – a fitness room, a table tennis room and three rehabilitation rooms. In addition, there will be nine speech therapy rooms and four psychologist and educationalist rooms. There will also be a place for parents to talk and share experiences.

Building in the future. Photo: Stołeczny Zarząd Rozbudowy Miasta

The building and the surrounding area will be accessible to people with special needs thanks to, among other things, the installation of three lifts and the designation of parking spaces for people with mobility problems at the entrance to the building. A unified visual information system will be installed in the building, as well as security systems: alarms and call points with light and sound signals. The building will be adapted in particular for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Glazing in the corridors and induction loops in the classrooms will be used. The positioning of tables in the classrooms will ensure constant visual contact with the teacher and uninterrupted use of multimedia screens.

Building in the future. Photo: Stołeczny Zarząd Rozbudowy Miasta

The area around the building will feature new pavements, car parks and an area for gymnastics and outdoor learning. There will also be an outdoor gym, a children’s playground, mini towns for learning traffic regulations and safe cycling, a geography corner and an area for dog therapy, among other things. The works will be carried out on an area of approximately 1.5 hectares. The fence and the surface, including the courtyard on the side of Plac Trzech Krzyży, will also be renovated. Modernisation of the building and the extensive grounds of the Father Jakub Falkowski Institute for the Deaf is to be completed within 25 months of signing a contract with the company selected in the tender.

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The building in the future. Photo: Stołeczny Zarząd Rozbudowy Miasta

The Institute of the Deaf and Dumb was founded in 1817 on the initiative of Father Jakub Falkowski, a Polish clergyman and educator. It is the oldest school and educational centre in Poland for hearing-impaired children and young people – deaf and hard of hearing. The Institute’s alumni received vocational and general education. They repeatedly demonstrated a patriotic attitude, taking part in the school strike in 1905, and in 1944 fighting in the Warsaw Uprising as part of the Deaf and Dumb Platoon. on 26 October 1944, the Germans set fire to the building. Reconstruction was completed in August 1948.

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Building of the Institute of the Deaf and Dumb circa 1908. Photo by R. Marcinkowski, Illustrated Atlas of Old Warsaw, Oliwka, Warsaw 2013, p. 197

The author of the Institute’s modernisation project is LEM Studio Architektoniczne from Kraków. Due to the historic nature of the building, the project required arrangements with the Capital Conservator of Monuments and the Mazovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments. The agreements concerned in particular the conservatory renovation of the façade, including the replacement of window and door joinery, and interior elements – the main staircase and library. The investment will be carried out under the constant supervision of the conservation services.

Source: Stołeczny Zarząd Rozbudowy Miasta

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