How to design buildings that last?
According to independent studies and analyses, the process of erecting buildings generates a very large demand for energy. One solution intended to limit this demand is the reconstruction of existing buildings. Reconstruction, especially where there is no need for significant intervention in the building’s structure, is a good route. A second solution is the reuse of building materials in the construction of new buildings. Here, however, a problem arises. Dismantling, refurbishing, transporting and reinstalling even the simplest facade materials to obtain can cost the same as, or more than, buying and installing new materials. So how does one build longevity into buildings? One way is to plan a building so that its floor plan is flexible and ready for coming changes and challenges. Another is the choice of facade materials that will not undergo rapid ageing and that are rooted in the local building tradition. And by being in harmony with the building’s purpose, they may help to hold the building’s user back from introducing changes.
Fairly often, appeals are published in the media to donate blood, which is constantly in short supply. This is one of the reasons why the building of the Regional Blood Donation and Blood Treatment Centre in Racibórz was given a distinctive identity. The process of reaching this goal turned out to be quite complicated. Among other things, because of the provisions of the local zoning plan, which set out a very standard colour palette for the facade. Based on greys, whites and the like. And here quite a large problem appeared. Whether to risk the design being rejected by the conservation services, or rather to try to convince those services? The Investor’s attitude was an enormous support for us. For the Investor, changing the colour of the panels from red, as we had envisaged in the competition entry, to colours consistent with the palette described in the zoning plan, was unacceptable. Interestingly, the motivation was not at all an attachment to the colour red. Grey, for medical reasons, evoked bad associations. It was interpreted by the Investor as a colour connected with a diseased state of the circulatory system. Red, especially as we used several of its shades, was associated instead with the richness of blood and its special role in the process of healing. The Investor therefore had no doubt as to which facade variant properly represented what the Investor called the gift of life that blood is for those in need. The attempt to approve the colour red, at the municipal office for the conservation of monuments, ended in failure.
In this case, no conditions were created for entering into dialogue and exchanging opinions. It was only the Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments who, after personally hearing our arguments, permitted the realisation of the project based on the competition entry. One of the well-received arguments was the deliberate choice of facade material. The panels were proposed to be made of natural ceramic covered with glaze. This is a direct reference to the local building tradition, observed during one of our visits to Silesia. According to the observations we made, part of the facade of historic buildings there is finished with glazed clinker brick. A second argument turned out to be demonstrating that a facade executed in line with the design would be very durable, and would not undergo rapid degradation of an operational nature.
The Regional Blood Donation and Blood Treatment Centre in Racibórz is also a demanding project in functional terms. And, like every healthcare facility, it is constantly subject to change owing to the new equipment and technology being introduced. The floor plan was prepared so that the building’s structure would not limit the possibility of changing the layout of the rooms. The floor slabs rest on the external walls and on the staircase located in the central part of the building. Most of the internal walls are easy to remove. Provision was also made for a reserve for new equipment on the installation terrace and in the installation shafts for new services. Preparing the building in this way significantly extends its usefulness. It also reduces the need for energy-intensive, deep reconstruction, or the demolition of the building and the construction of a new one.
