In Swinoujście, Poland, the Bałtycki Apartments project involved designing residential buildings on a plot near the shoreline. The development responds to the scale of the pre-war architecture in the area and the coastal landscape.

Architectural Dialogue with the Surroundings

Designed by the architectural firm Maxberg, the Bałtycki Apartments comprises two apartment buildings, five and seven storeys high, on an irregular plot located 300 meters from the beach. The design of the buildings references the scale and outlines of the surrounding pre-war villas and the nearby nursing home. The structures' trapezoidal forms and varied rooflines follow the organic line of the Promenade of Health. The project received Builder Award 2023, Poland Urban Award 2023 in the Commercial Architecture category, an International Architecture Award 2024 in the Multi-Family Housing category and was nominated for the Share Architecture Award 2024.

Construction, Materials, and Durability

The two buildings utilise a variety of construction methods. The underground section, which includes utility rooms and garages, was built using cast-in-place concrete. The above-ground structure, completed in 2022, combines prefabricated concrete, steel, and wood for the framework, walls, roof, staircases, and balconies.

The use of prefabricated components enabled factory-controlled production, which can help reduce material waste during construction. The thermal mass properties and durability of prefabricated concrete were employed in the design, and its intrinsic qualities can lead to lower maintenance costs over the building's lifespan. The project's forms, including truncated roofs and trapezoidal rooms, required coordination among five separate construction offices.