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T R N A V S K É M Ý T O
"Trnavske myto" and its marketplace was an important meeting and trading point in the past. Today it is one of the busiest traffic intersections of the city located on the outskirts of the centre. The evolution of the times has had a significant impact on this place. The function and quality of the public space has succumbed to the growing need for traffic, the spaces have become unattractive. Advertisements dominate the visual space instead of prominent buildings. The dominant building in the space is the trade union house, one of the icons of 20th century modern architecture. It represents a unique public place with a rich history and value that can be an asset for future generations not only by its architectural expression but also by the history that this building commemorates. Its destruction would erase an important reminder of the historic era of this place. The proposed multifunctional building is designed as the missing link of the area, with a large degree of variability of spaces for different typological needs and functions. Its primary role is to provide the missing function of a convention centre. However, the building does not exist and does not only serve the needs of the union house but also as an autonomous object that offers its diverse spaces to the general public in an attractive and easily accessible location.
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URBAN DESIGN
The urbanistic part of the study took the aim to offer a proposal for solving the problems of one of Bratislava's urban hotspots. The solution responds to a disparate, broken space with the potential to become a cultural hub, above all thanks to its history and the presence of already existing structures. The environment is heavily congested with traffic, which is both a positive and a big negative, especially due to the noise level, which is above 85 dB in critical places. A series of urban interventions are proposed for this problematic area with its uncompact space, which transform the character and atmosphere of the surroundings. One of the most striking interventions is the transformation of the area of the branch railway station into a lively urban forest park with a complementary housing function. The park serves as a contrast to the surrounding hard surfaces and softens the significant noise in the area. At the same time, it also follows the proposal from the history where in its vicinity , namely on the site of today's market from I. Matúšik, a large urban park was to be created. The new design of the branch line follows the route of the former horse railway and continues to the side of the New Market area where it gradually softens and changes character into an organised urban green space. Outside of the green design in this area, the visual smog present in the area is removed, the pavement surfaces are unified and parking is completely moved underground, returning the surface to the hands of pedestrians. New buildings are added around the former horse railway building which, like the rest of the design, complete the street line and reserve the views in which the market building is revealed. At the heart of this proposal is a new multifunctional building with the Trade Union House. The building is built on the site of the current car park. The design has been developed to respond to the deficiencies of the surroundings while preserving the presence of the values of Istropolis with as little intervention in the form itself as possible. The urban as well as the architectural form is defined and inspired by the surrounding relationships. The building primarily offers the functions of administration, hotel housing and rentable spaces, but the technical solution of the building itself allows for transforming these spaces for other typologies in case of a change of situation in the future. Another building on the territory connects directly to the building of the Istropolis from its eastern side, does not disturb its composition and complements the street line, while from the view from the side of the marketplace it creates an "entrance gate" of two solitaires standing side by side on opposite sides of the road,. This gesture follows the state of the Trnava town square in the past when this place served as an entrance to the city on the route between Bratislava and Trnava. At the point of connection to the Trade Union House, a passage is created that allows: movement into the existing courtyard of Istropolis, entrance to the original administration building and preservation of the possibility of the original crossing of the street as it is possible today. The last intervention in the urban design takes place in the north-western part of the area of the Trade Union House, where a new development, a multifunctional building with a train terminal, is built next to the Branch Park, which serves as a stop for the eventual realisation of the Branch Station proposal. It will be complemented by a residential development. These buildings create a new pedestrian passage through the overall area.
TRANSFORMATION OF THE TRAIN AREA - FIĽIALKA
Flood college is transformed into a green belt that stretches from the building "corn" to the building of the former horse railway, It is designed as a reminder of history whose main function is the transformation of the back side of Istropolis, which is currently a deserted unused empty area, into a space with a new housing option and a green lively park that again builds on the plans from the past where in the vicinity of this area, namely on the site of the new market hall was to be built a city park. Later this plan was replaced by the building of the New Market Hall by the prominent architect I. Matúšik. In this section there are also dilapidated warehouses, which are replaced by a multifunctional building serving as a train terminal
There are dilapidated warehouses in the vicinity of the track section, in the proposal the warehouses are replaced by a multifunctional building which also serves as a train terminal. The terminal responds to studies that have explored the potential of the branch as a train station. The proposed building builds on this possibility where the train track is located underground, under a newly created green park, after disembarking the passenger finds himself under the large glass structure of the terminal atrium, which is the centre of a newly created passage through the area... Thus, it presents another transport option that can support the attendance of the revitalised Trade Union House. Adjacent to the terminal are the new residential buildings, which are considered in two variants, the first variant envisages the redevelopment of all the warehouses, in which case a composition with a U-shaped floor plan would be created in this area. The second design takes into account the remnants of the production building. In this case a linear composition will be created. In both cases, a small plaza is created next to the terminal.
Addition of buildings, with the task of filling in the broken space and straightening the street line. At the same time, they allow to control the exposure of the market building in the required spaces and to concentrate the public events at the market to increase the quality of the space. The predominant function of the buildings would be polyfunction, housing, services or administration in the upper part, in the lower parterre providing services to visitors to the area
MASTERPLAN
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PROPOSAL FOR THE TERRITORY DESIGN OF ISTROPOLIS
In its current state, the union house does not use the capacity of the area, there is potential for their fulfillment and at the same time improvement of both the land and the surroundings without significant interventions in the architecture itself. The greatest potential for change is in the area of the present car park. Possibility to adapt the broken space with added functions for the city surroundings and the istropolis itself. . The second potential place for capacity utilization and improvement of both urbanism and environment is located near the office tower where the street line is again broken. The area as a whole does not currently provide the urban qualities and activities that could be expected from such a heavily visited place. The function of the Trade Union House-Congress Centre is valuable and can be considered unique in Bratislava, outside of INCHEBA. The current use of Istropolis is estimated at 10%, the building is dilapidated, the situation is critical and there is a need to consider a change of the territory or other intervention to improve the cultural equipment. A big minus is considered to be the function of a convention centre without providing temporary housing, the surrounding area is equipped with excellent access to various modes of transport.
An object is defined by its surroundings. Its boundaries and form are primarily derived from the urban lines of existing objects. The height of the building does not dominate the space and follows the height of the adjacent Istropolis, thus placing it in its equal position in height while the Trade Union House remains the dominant structure on the site. The mass on the upper floors takes on the urban planning principles defined by the UNITAS housing complex by Friedrich Weinwurm and Ignaz Vecsei where, when viewed from above, the step of the self-standing buildings is taken as well as the corner termination of the complex. In the lower 2 floors there is no longer a partitioning of the mass. At ground floor level there is a retreat inwards where the original mass of the building is indicated by the colonnade. The retreat offers a more pleasant transition around the busy street. In front of the building, from the side of the intersection, the mass on the 1st and 2nd floors recedes, creating a space that connects the square and the building with the surroundings, thus not becoming a massive barrier and thanks to the retreat of the mass, it allows the presence of Istropolis, located behind the building, to be perceived from the territory of the marketplace. In its northern part, the building is connected to the building of the Trade Union House by a 15m bridge which allows visitors to the hotel to pass dry-foot through to the congress centre.
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The building's rugged and unconventional shape proved to be a challenge in addressing its appearance. In addition to its irregular mass, its internal design also hides different structural heights in different parts of the building located next to each other. A glazed façade system was chosen which does not hide the specific solution of the different structural projections, but on the contrary acknowledges this articulation on the façade, thus making the building more clearly legible from the exterior as well. The element of vertical columns, which form the most distinctive tectonic part of the façade, has been incorporated to unify the façade, its superimposition is influenced by the structural system. This vertical language was inspired by the façade of the new market hall. The material solution is chosen as a combination of stone cladding and glazed façade. The choice of these materials follows the choice of the materials of the istropolis, at the same time giving the building a more important appearance
POLYFUNKČNÝ DOM
The multifunctional house combines under its roof a variation of functions, primarily it is a hotel housing which directly serves as a support for the functioning of the convention center, then it is an administration and shopping rentable spaces. However, the building is designed variably and with different heights so that in the event of the need for a different function is possible partial transformation of the premises, the Hotel, has the largest part of the building is located on each floor, 3,4 and 5 floors are dedicated to housing. In total there is 9 156 m2 of living space divided between 165 standard rooms, 15 superior rooms and 3 suite rooms. Adjacent to these spaces are 1,700 m2 of exterior roof areas serving as rooftop residence gardens. The function of the hotel is also prevalent on the 2nd and 1st floor where direct or supporting functions of the hotel are located such as the restaurant, wellness/fitness area, information zone, which connects by a bridge to a wide landing in the istropolis from which it is possible to continue to the 2nd floor of the convention centre or to ascend to its 3rd floor. The location of the bridge is to facilitate access to the halls and event rooms during the event. A significant area located on 2. NP of the multifunctional building are the flexible spaces, these thanks to their large column spans, open space and high clearance are ideal spaces for different typologies, the spaces are adapted and there are expected functions such as, for example, startups, laboratories, workshops, dance school, emergency spaces, community spaces. Atriums are a significant addition to this environment, which illuminate the layout even at its deepest points. The first floor belongs to the entrances to these functions, as well as the kitchen and reception of the hotel. Among other things, there are also rentable premises which can be subdivided into the necessary areas according to the need, these are intended to serve as an active parterre for the city. The last function in the building is the administration, which is located in the "nose" of the building, as well as the other floors and the administration is highly adaptable to different layouts.
The diverse and irregular shape presented a challenge also for the solution of the building's support system, As a first step it was necessary to divide the building due to the large span and the complexity of the shape into 2 expansion units which have actually but similarly organized load-bearing reinforced concrete column systems. Overall, it is made up of a 3rd axis direction load bearing system with a main modular span of 5.5m x 8.1m. The module dimension was chosen as a compromise between the optimum parking module and the dimension of a standard hotel room. The building has a total of 5 floors above ground and 2 underground floors, the underground connects to the existing Trade Union House where it uses its entrance ramp, both underground floors offer up to a total of 590 parking spaces. This is followed by 2 floors above ground with a design height of 5.1m. This height was chosen to allow for more flexible typological amenity. After two storeys the building is structurally divided into two parts, the Hotel part which forms the greater part of the 3rd-5th storeys. The standard structural height here is 3m. The skeleton as well as the arrangement of the rooms on this floor allows for the eventual future transformation of the hotel housing into classical housing. Types, the smaller proportion of the floor is located in the front of the building on which there is a jump of the floors due to the need for a different height for administrative space - 3.6m. For the design of the façade, fire safety fire zones were proposed at a height of at least 1m, this height increases according to the need for the height of the ceilings for individual functions. The building was equipped with exterior roller shutters to protect the building from overheating, these were incorporated into the overall aesthetic appearance of the facade. On the glazed façade, an opening section is inserted in every 3rd window module to avoid forced air conditioning of the entire building. The exterior spaces of the hotel cut-outs are of an errand, residential character, their surfaces are formed with a metre high earth substrate for the possibility of planting tall greenery and creating gardens. Due to the need to achieve sufficient illumination of the interior spaces, atrium spaces were designed as well as a light shaft that brings light in the center of the building through all floors. The polyfunction building is connected by a direct entrance to the istropolis via a common bridge, this connects from the 2nd floor of the hotel and connects to the stair landing of the union house building, the span of this bridge is 15m.
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