courtesy Gdyby Group, by Wojciech Ostrowski

The idea of the new development and actions on the Targ Weglowy square came at a time when the parking function disappeared from the historic square, and nothing new has come on its place. Car-free space presented the oportunity to propose a new, organised public square, which the Main City in Gdansk lacks. City Culture Institute in collaboration with GDYBY group proposed temporary space in the form of urban grassland rooms, as one of the many possibilities of organizing this place and to inspire some subsequent actions.

courtesy Gdyby Group

Form of the design was a result of its temporary character and a relatively small budget, but also a need to neutrally interfere with historical surroundings. The main idea was to drag the citizens into kind of a game, in which they participated from the moment they entered the square. GDYBY group designed a light modular OSB furnishings in a form of cubic boxes. Users had the oportunity to create their own little spaces in which they felt comfortably. Kids were creating their ideal playgrounds and geometrical compositions, while adults used cubes as tables, seats and space divisions. The whole arrangement was completed with natural grass areas which created „rooms" and gathered people around them. This intervention helped manage the considerable size of the square making it a little bit more cosy.

courtesy Gdyby Group, by Bogna Kociumbas

courtesy Gdyby Group, by Bogna Kociumbas

This universaly arranged space became a proper background for selection of events carried out by City Culture Institute. The citizens had an opportunity to eat breakfast together, spend the day on reading, relaxing and playing games and in the evening – watch a movie.

The essence of the project was very forward-looking and based on the principle of public participation. Residents of the city by adapting and arranging the space according to their needs, passed important information about what is needed in the square. From August 26 to September 4 Targ Weglowy Square turned into a place to discuss and share opinions about the role that it could play in the future.

+ Project facts

Location: Gdansk, Polska
Organization: City Culture Institute, City of Gdansk
Project and realization: GDYBY group (www.gdyby.pl)
Partner: Gazeta Wyborcza Trójmiasto
Patronage: Mayor of Gdansk – Pawel Adamowicz
Collaboration: Joseph Conrad Provincial and Municipal Public Library in Gdansk, Cafe Absinthe

+ All images and drawings courtesy GDYBY group

The Flatlight is a sleek and functional design piece, a classic object with modern design Studio Cheha introduces: the Flatlight,100% Flat, sleek, innovative, and contemporary candleholder, featuring a design of a classic candleholder which is stripped to its most basic form. A functional design piece with a twist that merges the 2D & 3D Worlds, forcing people to rethink their everyday objects Created in photochemical etching process to ensure high definition of design details, made from 0.4mm thick brass.

courtesy Studio Cheha

courtesy Studio Cheha

courtesy Studio Cheha

The Library and Learning Centre by Zaha Hadid at the Vienna University of Economics and Business opened last week in the city’s second district.

The library and learning centre is one of seven buildings that make up the new campus at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien), designed to accommodate 24,000 students and 1800 staff. The most distinctive feature of Zaha Hadid‘s 28,000-square-metre building is a large black volume that is perched over the roof and cantilevers out across a public square at the main entrance. This structure houses the main library, as well as function rooms and an elevated cafe, and is clad externally in fibreC glass fibre-reinforced concrete panels from Austrian manufacturer Rieder. To contrast, the rest of the building is finished in white fibreC panels and accommodates the non-public areas, including classrooms, an auditorium, workspaces and offices. The glassfibre concrete elements were able to meet all the requirements of the star architect, including aesthetics, material quality and the challenge of implementing the design of a slightly curved building cubature with curved concrete panels.

© Rieder

© Rieder

© Rieder

© Rieder

© Rieder

© Rieder

© Rieder

© Rieder

© Rieder

+ Project facts

Library and Learning Center
University of Economics Vienna
Austria
6.100 m2 fibreC
440 m2 fibreC 3D
Bianco & Liquide Black

Photographer: Rasmus Norlander