Tychy: metamorphosis of a neglected 1960s building.

Over the years, its façade has become dirty and the ground floor has been occupied by ugly advertisements and signs. This is about to change. Tychy will see the start of a metamorphosis of the building, built in the late 1960s. After reconstruction, it will gain a new façade.

The building located at 42-44 Grota Roweckiego Street will undergo a metamorphosis. The project was prepared by architects from the Paradox Design Office in Tychy. The plan is to create a new façade and entrance, the appearance of which is to refer to the original shape of the building put into use in 1969.

Over the past 30 years, the silhouette of the original Miastoprojekt Nowe Tychy building, designed by Stanisław Wąs, has changed considerably. The function of the ground floor, where numerous retail and service outlets have been opened, has changed. Until now, each tenant had been free to shape the form of their shop window, interfering with the original appearance of the building. Blustery signs and advertising posters appeared. The building has also been overhung, with the new part taking the form of a blue-coloured aluminium post-and-beam façade.

The façade was also superimposed on the external walls of the staircases, which significantly disrupted the original repetitive and horizontal rhythm of the façade. The only advantage of this solution was the strong accentuation of the entrances to the building. In addition, the shape of the windows themselves was changed, they were reduced in size and muntins were introduced, and the southern elevation gained an extension in the form of a corner-cut, cuboidal staircase,” informs architect Szymon Borczyk.

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The designers admit that due to the limited budget it will not be possible to fully refer to the reinforced concrete skeleton visible on the façade.

Aside from the obvious need to tidy up the façade and remove any extraneous and random elements fitted to the building, we searched hard for distinctive features that we could emphasise that would relate to the original concept of the building. The building was originally characterised by a horizontal band arrangement of windows inserted into reinforced concrete frames on the façade. And it was mainly this feature that we emphasised,”adds Szymon Borczyk.

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The investment is being carried out by Tyskie Towarzystwo Budownictwa Społecznego and the work will be carried out by Inare. It is planned to renovate the walls and windows, make canopies over the entrances to the premises, replace shop windows and doors on the ground floor. The façade will be kept in black and white. White horizontal stripes will occupy the middle and lower parts of the building. The top floor will be distinguished by black elements. The form of the façade panels is a reworking of the shell idea from the ‘Azet’ department store opposite. In addition, there will be a raising of the pavement level so that people with disabilities will have easier access. The question of possible future signs, however, is resolved by the landscape resolution

The investment will cost PLN 5.5 million.

design: PARADOX Architectural Studio

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This is how the building looks today:

photo Google

This is how it will look after the makeover: