OFFICE BUILDINGS RONDO BUSINESS PARK, KRAKÓW
LOCATION: | Lublańska Street, Krakow, Poland |
INVESTOR: | Rondo Development sp. z o.o. / Grupa Buma |
BUILDINGS A1, A2 | |
AUTHORS: | arch. Jacek Ewý, arch. Krzysztof Ingarden |
CO-OPERATION: | arch. Krzysztof Stępniak |
PROJECT: | 2006 |
CONSTRUCTION: | 2007 |
USABLE FLOOR AREA: | 11,016 m2 |
BUILDING A3 | |
AUTHORS: | arch. Jacek Ewý, arch. Krzysztof Ingarden |
CO-OPERATION: | arch. Benedykt Bury – K3 Pracownia Projektowa |
PROJECT: | 2007 |
CONSTRUCTION: | 2008 |
USABLE FLOOR AREA: | 9,020 m2 |
AWARDS: | “Kraków – My Home” 2008 architectural award – winner of the poll in the public utility building architecture category |
Nomination to the Janusz Bogdanowski 2008 Award | |
Honourable Mention in the competition for the Stanisław Witkiewicz 2008 Prize held by the Małopolska Voivodeship |
DESIGN TIME: | Buildings A1, A2: arch. Dominik Starzycki, arch. Piotr Hojda, arch. Anna Kula, arch. Paweł Stec, arch. Kamil Budzyński, arch. Małgorzata Frączek, arch. Sebastian Machaj, arch. Jakub Wagner, arch. Katarzyna Hełczyńsk-Żegleń, arch. Agata Wiktor Building A3: K3 Pracownia Projektowa: arch. Benedykt Bury, arch. Piotr Chuchacz, arch. Rafał Chowaniec, arch. Justyna Chuchacz |
INTERIOR DESIGN: | Ingarden & Ewý Architekci |
STRUCTURE: | Project Service s.c. |
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: | Anpro |
HVAC: | Akwa, Ventus |
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
Starting with the mid-1990s, the area situated along Bora Komorowskiego Street, east of the Polsad Roundabout – between the historical Kraków and the industrial Nowa Huta – began to transform from post-industrial periphery into a city hub. Influencing the development of this part of the city was the opening of commercial centres, including Stinnes (OBI) and Geant (Real), which were later joined by the AquaPark and Multikino. The significance of the area grew gradually, to develop into what it is today: an easily recognisable and well-connected space, attractive for office functions. In 2007, the area gained its character thanks to the high-rise building that provides an architectural accent in the area, having become the visual identifier of the location in cityscape. Rondo Business Park office building situated by the Polsad Roundabout is a 15-stories-high composition of three interconnected vertical solids of various form, colour, and height: the rounded form of the aluminium façade from the west, the glass façade from the south, and two ceramic planes of the corner Building A1 from the northeast. This classical compositional triad is applied to vertical elements and aims at differentiating the appearance of the building from individual sides to reinforce its significance as the area’s landmark. From the east, it appears to be an orange building with solid brick walls, and horizontally cut windows with modernist proportions, to turn into a dark blue glass cuboid when viewed from the south, and let the composition close with an aerodynamic aluminium form with external blinds from the west.
By its foot, the high-rise building is complemented with a three-storey-high horizontal office and services building finished with material analogous to those used for the high-rise section (Building A2). The entire composition plays the role of the “gateway” to the entire area, and the new symbolical sign of transforming a degraded post-industrial site into a state-of-the-art office, commerce, and services centre of Krakow.