The new multi-family building in Otwock, designed by MFRMGR Architekci, emerges from the local context as a contemporary response to the town’s history, its former ambitions and lost charm. It was built on Michała Elwiro Andriollego Street, named after the creator of the style that Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński called “Świdermajer”. It is here, on the site of former sanatoriums and hospitals treating lung diseases, in a town known for its beneficial microclimate and excellent transport links to Warsaw, that the architects decided to propose a new quality of space.
For decades, the city centre lost its cohesion, and the area around the railway station, once bustling with life, fell into chaos and neglect. On the plot where Antoni Jarząbek’s iconic “Bar Uniwersalny” operated during the communist era, it is difficult to find traces of its former glory today. The architects make no secret of the fact that their ambition was to provide an impetus for change. As they emphasise: “Our project was intended to be a catalyst for change in the centre of Otwock and restore its splendour. The building can be one of the city’s landmarks. With this project in such a prominent location, we wanted to send a signal that this city is developing and changing,” say the architects.
Contemporary style intertwined with tradition
The inspiration from Świdermajer is not literal here. The designers consciously avoid copying historical forms, choosing subtle references instead. “We wanted to subtly refer to Świdermajer-inspired architecture in a perverse (but not literal) way. Keeping in mind the heritage of this type of architecture, we contrasted it with a somewhat synthetic, contemporary architectural language associated with the literal and traditional,” they add. The most striking trace of this inspiration are the balconies, treated as contemporary openwork verandas, giving residents space to relax and observe the changing neighbourhood.
The building’s structure has been divided into two parts, allowing tradition to be combined with modernity without falling into pastiche. The first is a two-storey wooden segment, in which the designers have recreated local details by analysing historical examples. The second, a five-storey section with a contemporary form, has been kept in a uniform light colour to blend the different materials and tidy up the visual chaos of the neighbourhood. “This was done to tidy up the colour chaos that exists in the neighbourhood. It also allows sunlight to cast shadows and create graphics on the building,” they explain.
The modern part is ascetic, devoid of excessive detail, with natural concrete left on the balcony ceilings and vertical screens that give the façade a lightness. The wooden part, thanks to carefully recreated elements, evokes the atmosphere of old Otwock, but does not pretend to be a historical building.
A place to live, meet and be active
The building combines residential and commercial functions, which is intended to revitalise this part of the city. The glazed ground floor is intended for services that could become local meeting places. For example, a bookshop with a café or a shop selling regional products could operate here. The wooden part of the building will house an accounting office, an artisan bakery or an ice cream parlour. The upper floors will contain 23 flats with verandas of various sizes, accessible from a centrally located staircase and lift. An underground car park has been designed under the building, and on the courtyard side, there is a green courtyard exclusively for residents.
The finishing materials of the façade (white plaster, white powder-coated steel and light grey formwork) create a coherent, orderly composition. The architects assume that over time, the verandas and terraces will be filled with greenery, flowers and climbing ivy, and the planters will be filled with plants tended by the residents.
The MFRMGR Architekci design is not just an aesthetic proposal. It is an attempt to create a place that fosters neighbourly relations and builds a local community. “We would like this building to attract local residents of all ages and at the same time become a symbol of interesting, comfortable cohabitation. It would provide a framework for new and friendly neighbourly relations,” summarise the authors of the project.
In the centre of Otwock, where there is a lack of architectural landmarks, the new building has the potential to become the beginning of change. Combining the contemporary with local heritage, the project shows that the development of a city can be based on respect for history, but also on the courage to formulate new proposals.
design: MFRMGR Architects
team: Marta Frejda, Michał Gratkowski, Łukasz Ptak, Łukasz Rossa, Jacek Paśnik, Adam Górka, Joanna Barbachowska
construction: Michał Dyszkiewicz
photos: Oni Stories
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