Built on a narrow strip of land remaining amidst 1970s developments, 137kilo and WWAA have designed a renovation of 'służewieckiego domu kultury' (SDK) in a way that maintains the original center's humble nature, but greatly expands its program and accessibility -- creating a hub for music, art, education, technology, and ecology. the site's agricultural history, the existing eco-farm, and local code restricting the height to six meters drove the design. before the urban development encroached on the landscape, it was dominated by farms and individual houses. emphasizing the importance of its agrarian past, the petting zoo has been moved to the heart of the project and surrounded by constructs resembling former local dwellings.
Voluminous program such as the concert hall, rehearsal rooms, and audio-visual labs sink into the earth to reduce their visual impact. smaller homestead-like structures rise out of the ground enclosing each program individually. although the design generally employs traditional materials, several glass walls reveal the activity within, and open views to the neighboring służewiecki stream, re-connecting the center with its history and context.
Encouraging pedestrian access, and creating a place of outdoor refuge and communal activity, a walkway leads from adjacent apartment blocks to the cultural center. to accommodate vehicular access, 50 parking spaces are distributed along bacha street and in a lot on the north side of the site. in contrast to transparent public facades, the solid wall of the concert hall and site grading hide the parking lot from the view of the main entrance. to encourage bicycle traffic, the project is located close to an existing path.
The design also includes a new bikeway on the west side of the site, which leads to a campfire area and a wetland boardwalk developed to encourage visitors to venture into the landscape. further connection to the environment is illustrated in the application of solar panels and wind turbines as energy sources. the intention is to effect the consideration of aesthetics and ecology of nature in an urban context.