Commercial and residential building

Located at the intersection of St. Leonard and Piatkowska Street in Poznan, Poland, the building designed by Easst Architects has both commercial and residential function. It was built on a degraded space that had previously been a parking lot for years.

In the design assumptions, when thinking about the body of the building, it was crucial to adjust it to the already existing building which has a rather scattered facade and an asymmetrical gable roof. Therefore, we decided to create steep roofs broken with modern dormers. This combination of a traditional roof with a  modern facade elements resulted in establishing a dialogue with the existing building.

As the result, the building also changes with the angle of observation and its view becomes unobvious. The windows were also composed in a traditional arrangement, but their position was distorted. The shift has created a modern interpretation of the traditional pattern. Additionally, corner windows were used which added lightness and modernity.

The body has also been enriched with balconies which, due to the function of the building, appear from the second floor. Their large projection combined with subtle details create a strong differentiation of residential floors. Very thin, steel frames have been used around the windows, which enrich the composition with chiaroscuro thanks to extending them beyond the face of the facade.

The very divisions of the facade in reference to the vibrating rhythm of the windows continue the idea of creating a modern composition. They are irregular and stick only to the horizontal window divisions. The entrance to the building was distinguished by the use of a contrasting color of the board and then pushed inside the building, creating a natural shade.

The functions are divided into floors. There are commercial premises on the ground and first floor. On the next floors, there are apartments with mezzanines under the roof on the top floor. The mezzanines are lit with the roof windows, which, in combination with large windows, provide a lot of daylight in the apartments with different angles of incidence. The building also has an underground floor where garage is located. Due to the very small pot, the entrance to the garage floor has been designed in the form of a car lift.