Project Entry 2017 for Europe
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Converting a factory into housing, Lodz, Poland
Ecommunity Factory is located in Lodz, a city in the center of Poland. Existing factory building is a part of larger industrial area placed among residential area and 400m from busy downtown. Project shows a method to absorb old industrial buildings into living urban tissue and activate its surrounding as well as the interior. In the picture from above: location scheme, project parts, cross-section of factory building.
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Converting a factory into housing, Lodz, Poland
Building from above. Sequences of design stages (l-r): roof and terraces, furnished interiors, view on shared space, wooden structure together with existing, steel one. Upper floors of housing units have an access to roof terraces and windows on both west and east sides. Lower level is illuminated through skylights or upper floor windows. On the ground floor there are wardrobes, technical rooms and toilets.
Last updated: March 21, 2017 Lodz, Poland
Building re-use
Trying to re-use existing architecture and avoiding its demolition should be one of the main concerns when designing for cities. Eliminating the demolition process reduces pollution and cost of investment, and often saves historical value. Ecommunity Factory is showing how to activate post-industrial plots in a simple way. Wooden skeleton is designed among existing steel structure and reinforced concrete walls of an old production hall from the 1960s. Each housing unit is connected to the roof to obtain good lighting conditions. As the design is divided into existing “outer shell” and “inner frame” structure, the building process is shared into two stages: adjustment of production building and never-ending stage of formation the evolving living space.
Active community
Most of the multi-family housing buildings are designed and built without any involvement of future residents in the building process. In this project, inhabitants take action in designing their own living space. Each housing unit of Ecommunity Factory is made of wooden I-beams and insulation – the technology that allows changes to be applied at any time in the future. Existing factory “shell” represents the community gathered under one roof, housing units reflect specified, individual needs. Shared space creates a field for activity of inhabitants, as well as a meeting place for local groups. The strength of future societies lies in “cooperation in diversity”. Architecture should allow for the expression of individual needs together with common goals of society.
Ecological change
There are several levels of ecological approach in Ecommunity Factory. First is an idea of using a nonecological factory as a mean to create a green-futuristic way of living. Second is creating the “space in between” as a ventilated thermal buffer between interior and exterior. “Space in between” is filled with plants and wood that creates healthy environment. Third layer supports the idea with technical solutions. Each housing unit is connected to flat-plate collectors for solar water heating and rainwater harvesting. Factory space allows for cultivation of plants, roof terraces can be equipped with greenhouses.