Hasta La Ideas

Wire-encased lights are suspended above oak-topped counters at this bakery in Poland by designer Maciej Kurkowski (+ slideshow).

Situated in Piaseczno, a town south of Warsaw, Kurkowski’s Przystanek Piekarnia Bakery features a custom-designed shelving unit for storing and displaying bread.

The unit occupies one wall and is made from 626 plywood modules stained in four different hues.

A large blackboard covers the adjoining wall for advertising the day’s menu.

Black electrical cables run up the walls and across the ceiling, powering light bulbs surrounded by intricate wire shades.

Oak counter tops sit on plinths covered in matte white tiles and with bevelled edges.

One tile on each plinth is replaced with a plywood module engraved with the company logo.

Kurkowski was also involved in the design of the Zmianatematu cafe in Poland, which has an interior lined with plywood ribs.

Photography is by Paulina Sasinowska and Maciej Kurkowski.

Here is some more information from the designer:

“Przystanek Piekarnia”, Szkolna 12, Piaseczno

Krzosek Bakery is a family company established few generations ago in 1959. Its values combine respect for the tradition and a need for constant development. Interiors of their shops are an embodiment of this approach.

The commission was to create a coherent interior designs for a whole chain of their shops. Individual look of each interior is achieved by use of a stained birch plywood 450x70x20mm module, that can be used to create almost infinite parametric design variations, while the rest of the interior components remain the same. Depending on the interior the modules can form a built-in display rack or a sculptural suspended ceiling that folds over the wall morphing into display shelves.

The first realisation of the project is in Piaseczno. Key feature of the shop is a custom display shelving unit behind the counter made from 626 plywood modules stained in four warm hues. This allows to keep the rest of the elements used in the interior monochromatic, achieving a balanced look with lightly coloured manually applied coarse plaster, epoxy resin flooring and electrical cables laid on walls in black encasement.

Oak counters sit on white tiled plinths. Matte tiles with beveled edges, resembling those used for tile stoves delicately diffuse the light. In each plinth one tile is replaced with a plywood module with new logo of the company engraved in it.

Subtle lightning was created using Thomas Edison’s design inspired light bulbs with an intricate luminescent rod encased in wire fixtures allowing the glow to delicately seep through the gaps which creates elegant overall effect.

Other two main features used in all interiors are a blackboard wall for announcing special offers and stainless steel furnace for baking fresh buns and delicious cookies on site.

Author: Maciej Kurkowski
Location: Piaseczno, Poland
Client: Piekarnia Krzosek
Total Area: 25 m2
Usable Area: 19 m2
Volume: 64 m3
Design: 2013
Construction: 2013

The post Przystanek Piekarnia Bakery
by Maciej Kurkowski appeared first on Dezeen.

L’artiste polonais Pawel Jońca a un style bien à lui : des illustrations aux messages subliminaux, parfois poétiques mais toujours plein de finesse. Il gagne de nombreux prix, et travaille pour la presse polonaise et internationale. Une très belle carrière et des illustrations sublimes à découvrir dans la suite.

The architects of Polish studio PL.architekci have created a new studio for themselves inside a disused loft in Poznan (+ slideshow).

Located in the city’s historic quarter, the renovated attic provides PL.architekci with a two-storey workplace featuring exposed timber trusses and white-painted brickwork.

“Nothing in our office is pretending to be anything else,” explain the architects. “What we see is either our modern work or the building’s original construction.”

The steeply sloping roof allowed the architects to insert a mezzanine loft beneath the rafters. A metal staircase leads to the upper level and is attached to a sliding mechanism, so it can be wheeled to a different position if it gets in the way.

Seventeen new windows bring daylight into the attic for the first time, offering a view across the neighbouring rooftops.

White cabinets and bookshelves divide the space into different zones, while additional partitions conceal large-format printers and a kitchen at the centre of the office.

PL.architekci is led by architects Katarzyna Cynka, Bartek Bajon and Marcin Kozierowski. Recent projects by the studio include a sports centre with a rooftop tennis court.

Other interesting offices inside old buildings include a workplace in a former textile factory and a set of offices in an old steel plant. See more office interiors.

Photography is by Monika Kuszynska.

Here’s a statement from the architects:

We designed our own studio within a formerly disused attic space in a historic quarter of Poznan. We sought to maximise the space and reveal its character to provide an inspirational working environment whilst allowing our clients to experience our style of architecture and design.

The attics original wooden rafters have been expressed by designing a physical separation between themselves and new divisions within the space.

This separation is emphasised by introducing flush white walls, cabinetry and office furniture creating a clear contrast between the old and new.

We introduced 17 windows to provide the previously dark attic with a world of natural light and view of the neighbourhood beyond the rooftops.

A second level storage area is accessible by a sliding steel staircase that can be moved aside when not in use.

Nothing in our office is pretending to be anything else; what we see is either our modern work or the building’s original construction. Just the way we like it!

The post Workshop in the Attic
by PL.architekci appeared first on Dezeen.

Warsaw studio Moko Architects has unveiled plans to build a diving and indoor skydiving centre outside Warsaw by surrounding a pair of abandoned cement silos with a tower of shipping containers.

The facility is proposed for the industrial district of Żerań, where a series of channels transport water between the city and Zegrze Reservoir, and a number of abandoned factories, warehouses and silos stand empty.

Moko Architects has designed a ten-storey structure where diving and skydiving activities can take place inside the cylinders of the converted silos. The first will be filled entirely with water to allow divers to plunge to depths of 25 metres, while the second will contain an underwater “cave” at its base and a skydiving tunnel at its top.

Shipping containers will be stacked up around the outside of the silos to provide offices and training facilities, as well as hostel accommodation, an exhibition area, a reading room, sports shops and a summer cafe. Balcony terraces will also be created on each floor by the irregular arrangement of the containers.

Construction is due to start in 2015.

Other architectural projects that use shipping containers include offices for an organic farm in China, a hotel in Germany and a sea-facing observation deck in South Korea. See more shipping container architecture.

Here’s some more information from Moko Architects:

Modernising the existing silos at the Żerański channel into a Diving and Indoor Skydiving Centre open all year round

The area for the investment is located ca. 12 km away from the centre of Warsaw. This is a part of a house factory in Żerań which operated in the past. Today, there are abandoned halls, warehouses and non-developed area. Main facilities include wholesale warehouses of construction materials and other products. The Żerański channel flows through the entire area, which creates a unique municipal landscape.

The collection of elements described above has a huge potential. The channel is a great water communication route between the City and the Zegrze Reservoir which provides the opportunity of doing water sports and staying active. The remains of the factories, warehouses and silos may be attractive for investors interested in their modernisation into lofts, offices, studios or erecting new buildings which will interline into the surrounding landscape.

This area is also becoming a popular place for amateurs of extreme sports, artists or people who like exploring abandoned buildings.

Our design assumes development of a Diving and Indoor Skydiving Centre open all year round in the old silos where bulk cement used to be stored in the past. The existing facility is a perfect base for this investment and will be the only place in Poland where people wishing to learn the skills of diving will have the opportunity to safely train at the depth of 25m under control. The well located in one of the silos is connected to the “cave” of the other cylinder. This is an ideal place to train wreck diving. The diameter of the well is 7m.

Apart from the cave, the second silo will feature a technical area as well as an Indoor Skydiving Centre. This place will make dreams about flying come true. In the “tube” where air will flow at high speeds, you will be able to safely train skydiving.

The Diving and Indoor Skydiving Centre will feature additional functions for people who will only visit the centre for a few hours with their families as well as for organised groups coming for training sessions lasting a couple of days.

The ground floor will feature the entrance area with exhibition space, professional magazines reading area, external café open in the summer season as well as a workshop. Level 1 will house sports stores. Level 2 and 3 will feature offices and administration. Level 4 will feature a hostel for indoor skydivers while level 5 will house training rooms and changing rooms for skydivers as well as the entrance to the area where the practical training of indoor skydiving is conducted. Level 6 will house a hostel for divers, level 7 will feature training and presentation rooms for divers while on level 8 there will be changing rooms separate for women and men. The will also be a buffer zone for divers to directly access the place where they start diving. At the same level, the facility will also feature a warm-up room. In the retained control room area at level 9 a small bar with a view onto the city panorama is designed. There will be terraces on all levels where you can relax after training while watching the industrial scenery intertwined with the Żerański channel.

The modules forming the space for additional functions are applied onto the existing structure of the silo walls looking as if they were growing on them. They are made of light self-supporting steel structure located on both sides and connected by a staircase. They comprise system cubes operating on the basis of single containers which are relatively cheap to manufacture and easy to rearrange in case of the need of changing the functional arrangement of the entire project. Polycarbonate plates will be the covering material through which the structure will be visible.

Completion of this project will set a direction for the development of this district and may become an alternative cultural centre in this part of Warsaw.

The post Diving and Indoor Skydiving Centre
by Moko Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

A l’origine présent pour réaliser une vidéo sur les traces de l’holocauste en Pologne et notamment à Auschwitz, Matty Brown a décidé de montrer par la même occasion le présent et tout l’enthousiasme que lui évoque ce pays aujourd’hui. Une belle vidéo appelée « Bipoland » à découvrir dans la suite.