Atal Warta Towers is a contemporary mixed use building that is currently under construction at Rataje district in Poznań, in the close proximity of an important transport hub – Starołęka Roundabout. Just 3km from the Old Town which is easy accessible by car, bike or public transportation. AP Szczepaniak office has been appointed by well-known Polish developer Atal, as architects responsible for the design.
2nd Award- Global Future Design Awards 2020
Firm | AP Szczepaniak
Architect/Designer | AP Szczepaniak
Category | Mixed Use Concept
Team | Artur Szczepaniak, Paweł Szczepaniak, Agnieszka Szczepaniak, Paweł Mulawa, Agnieszka Balawender, Paweł Skraba, Linda Sidor, Piotr Tracz, Agnieszka Sobczak-Piskorska, Łucja Noweta, Blanka Gumowska
Country | Poland
Photographer/Copyright | ©AP Szczepaniak
The building consists of a residential tower rising from an extensive base created by ground floor dedicated to commercial units such as retail, restaurants and other services. All this was designed over the 18-storey building with two underground car park levels. According to the project, there would be 352 apartments and 15 retail units accompanied by 306 car parking spaces.
The main idea for the massing was influenced by the building location. The qualities of the nearest area was used, to place the Atal Warta Towers building on a hill like a sculpture on a pedestal. The ground floor of the tower was designed as an inverted contour of a letter P with an independent inside patio dedicated for residents and retail users. Upper floors were formed on the U-shape plan. During designing process the main block composition was divided vertically and horizontally into 3 separate shapes in order to create the final eye-catching building. Shifts in components gave the composition diversity, allowed viewers to see constant changes and encouraged them to observe it from different angles as it happens with true sculptures. The vertical narrow gaps between the building parts framed the views and made the whole development even more interesting. In the front, attention was drawn to the characteristic 8-meter undercut in which the main entrance was located.The final massing became a composition of intermingling shapes, ensuring optimal sunlight and a view of the river and the old town. The building composition was further emphasized by the introduction of colour contrast – light and dark grey facade made of wall insulated render system with high quality finishes. The light reflections captured by windows and glass balustrades of the linear balconies made Atal Warta Towers look more like a public building than a residential one. Due to the arrangement of continuous linear balconies and loggias with balustrades made of frosted glass, the façade received an additional foreground in the form of a horizontal composition of parallel stripes. The idea of sustainable development was incorporated in the design to make the best use of site excellent location and accessibility in order to reduce car park spaces factor requirements. Instead public transportation and bicycle use was promoted. The building was designed to be covered with a green roof, which is an additional aesthetic and ecological value, as well as it reduces the carbon footprint of the development.