Entrances to the Tatra Mountains National Park

Entrances to the Tatra Mountains National Park

2PM Architekci as Architects

2015 Project - 1st prize


Investor: Tatra Mountains National Park


Location: Tatra Mountains National Park


Team: Michał Adamczyk, Piotr Bylka, Piotr Musiałowski, Krzysztof Nowotka


The Park's entrances are situated in a close vicinity to parking lots and public transportation stops where tourists start their visit to the Tatra Mountains National Park. They incorporate checkout desks, a tourist information (combined with a small bookshop), information boards, communications routes, resting spots, and toilets. The current buildings are more than a dozen years old, built in the Zakopane architectural style. They do not meet the requirements needed to serve touristic traffic. On the Park's premises there are 17 such entrances, of different sizes. The competition work comprises the design of two of such entrances, Białego Valley (smaller) and Kościeliska Valley (of higher capacity), with the possibility of adapting them for the rest of the entrances.


The recommendation for the competition in regards to small architecture was a simple form, not imitating Zakopane architectural style, with modern constructional and material solutions, and the use of wood as the main elevation material.


The team's starting point was the construction of a koliba (a mountain cottage), its gabled roof's shape, and the exploration of associations connected with its washed-out, silvery roofing. In order to avoid direct historical associations, the building's structure is geometric, additionally emphasized by a perpendicular layout of a plank covering and a placing of one level of the roof over the other, initially applied in sheds. However, the roof's ridge, parallel to the level of terrain, is built at an angle in relation to the horizontal projection. The roofing and the covering of the object's walls is made from silvery-grey wood. The object's fourth wall, open at the communication route that incorporates the entrance to the park, is "carved out" from the structure. As a contrast to the roof's naturally aged texture, the weatherproof plywood makes up an optically much warmer accent. Glass windows provide good visibility of the entrance area, and the parzenica motive placed on them is a suggestion for voice communication.


In the smaller variant (Białego Valley) the group of objects consists of a two-function pavilion. It encompasses the cash registers and tourist information as well as a roofing for tourists and information boards. In the bigger variant (Kościeliska Valley), the pavilion got enlarged to house additional cash registers, while the tourist information was moved to a separate building. Based on suggested modules, there is a possibility of generating different spatial layouts. In all of the entrances, the pavilions are situated on both sides of the pathway, which creates a symbolic gate that sets the Park's borders, further emphasized by the placement of metal elements in the ground containing the name of the place. According to the jury board's appraisal, the project presented by 2pm blends with the surroundings the most thanks to the stylistic solutions and its small size. The functionality as well as the simplicity of solutions comprises of this project's great implementation potential.

Products Behind Projects
Product Spotlight
News
Detail: sliding panels of natural pine protect a residential complex from the Mallorcan sun
29 Mar 2024 Detail
Detail: sliding panels of natural pine protect a residential complex from the Mallorcan sun

Spanish architecture firm OHLAB has recently completed Paseo de Mallorca 15, a residential complex o... More

Snøhetta designs new extension for the world’s oldest ski museum in Oslo
28 Mar 2024 News
Snøhetta designs new extension for the world’s oldest ski museum in Oslo

Global transdisciplinary architecture and design practice Snøhetta has designed a new entranc... More

10 public buildings that demonstrate architectural applications of precast concrete
27 Mar 2024 Specification
10 public buildings that demonstrate architectural applications of precast concrete

Precast concrete is made by casting concrete in a reusable mold. These molds are made of various mat... More

Sameep Padora and Associates creates a flowing, organic art center in southern India
26 Mar 2024 News
Sameep Padora & Associates creates a flowing, organic art center in southern India

Mumbai-based Sameep Padora & Associates (sP+a) has completed Hampi Art Labs in Toranagallu, a vi... More

Introducing Partner Thermory AS
26 Mar 2024 Partner News
Introducing Partner Thermory AS

Thermory AS offers a diverse product range that includes durable exterior cladding, decking, interio... More

Brooklyn Tower by ShOP Architects showcases a unique materiality
25 Mar 2024 News
Brooklyn Tower by ShOP Architects showcases a unique materiality

Brooklyn Tower, standing an impressive ninety-three stories tall with a unique neo-deco crown, is al... More

Doriana Fuksas, Martin Lesjak, Li Xiang and Steven Wright join Archello Awards 2024 jury
25 Mar 2024 Archello Awards
Doriana Fuksas, Martin Lesjak, Li Xiang and Steven Wright join Archello Awards 2024 jury

Doriana Fuksas, Martin Lesjak, Li Xiang and Steven Wright have been announced as Archello Awards 202... More

Vurpas Architectes converts former brick and concrete market into light-filled primary school in Lyon
22 Mar 2024 News
Vurpas Architectes converts former brick and concrete market into light-filled primary school in Lyon

The Eugénie Brazier school project in Lyon, France, undertaken by regional architecture studi... More