Public Library, Choszczówka
Our goal was to create a place for the local community with inspiring architecture and environmental awareness — energy efficient, based on renewable resources, using low-emission and natural materials, and blending into the surrounding nature and local context.
Location
6 Kłosowa Street, Warsaw
Client
Capital City of Warsaw, Białołęka District
Status
Completion
Area
625 m²
Project
2023
Completion year
2024
Even before its opening, the library received the 2024 Architectural Award of the Mayor of the Capital City of Warsaw in the “Public Utility Architecture” category and for solutions ensuring accessibility, as well as a distinction in the “Best Ecological Project” category in the 2023 PLGBC Polish Green Building Council Awards.
The library is located in a single-family housing district with pre-war architecture and lot of greenery but a lack of public spaces. The building houses a library for adults and children, multifunctional conference room, space for children’s activities and offices for the management of the district libraries. The lobby area provides a place to sit with a laptop or have a meeting. Green area adjacent to the building is an extension of internal space and can be used in summer for reading, library lessons and events. Since there is no fence, the building has a broader green context.
The plot was a clearing with paths, residents used as shortcuts. Since the building had to cut this paths, we designed entrances in that way, that the paths lead to them and created the parallel passage adjacent to the building. The plot remained unfenced. The plot had the charm of the informal use and the nature, which spontaneously had taken over the space. To match this atmosphere, we chose wood as a façade material, natural arrangement of the greenery, mineral pavement.
There was a demand for different functions expected by the library, residents and local NGOs, thus the building had to be efficient and flexible. The conference room can be used for library lessons, meetings of the district libraries teams but can also be connected with the lobby creating bigger space for events. Furniture can be easily stored and adjusted to different needs. The functions are arranged in such a way that parts of the building can be also used outside the library’s opening hours.
The building has a hybrid construction system, based on prefabricated timber elements, with the staircase and elevator shaft made of precast concrete. The main structure consists of glulam, walls are timber-frame panels with wood fiber insulation. Facade is finished with thermally treated pine boards and the windows are also made of wood.
The structural wooden elements and the concrete walls of the staircase were left unfinished. Finishing materials included plywood cladding, wood wool, wooden lamella ceilings, and linoleum flooring. When selecting materials, we considered their environmental impact during the production potential for reuse or recycling, and influence on indoor air quality. The building is heated with a heat pump, part of electricity needs is covered by a photovoltaic installation. Rainwater is drained into rain gardens and stored in a tank to be used to water the plants.
“The beautiful new library building, nestled in greenery, is our pride. Residents (…) will not only be able to borrow books here, but also meet with their neighbours, watch films at the open-air cinema, and even plant greenery in the community garden, because the library on Kłosowa Street will also serve as a local activity centre. And all of this in a wooden, cosy building that has already received three awards!
Anna Majchrzak, Mayor of the Białołęka District of Warsaw.
The library was awarded for its functionality, accessibility, and the beauty of architecture that breaks stereotypes about timber frame technology. The building is a kind of ecological manifesto and can serve as a lesson in how to build better and more wisely.
—from the jury’s justification for the President of Warsaw’s Architecture Award.
