Bałtyk appears totally different depending on what side it is approached from. A linear building with a concrete, entirely glass-fronted façade and clearly exposed aggregate grain, sets it apart from its surroundings and is an example of a balanced combination of "old" and "new" architecture in the context of the neighbouring historic building of Concordia Design and the Haven.
Occupying 16 storeys with an irregular arrangement, and towering over the city centre of Poznań, the building changes its shape depending on the viewing angle. This 25,000m2 building is divided into 12,000m2 office space, 750m2 panorama restaurant with a one room hotel, 1350m2 retail in the plinth of the building and three levels of underground parking. The flexible office space is limited to a depth of seven metres allowing daylight to generously penetrate the workspaces. Bałtyk is also a multifunctional building with innovative interior solutions, and scenic terraces offering panoramic views all across the city. In addition to business-oriented functions, the building will house catering establishments, a fitness club, and an intimate jazz club on the 16th floor. Its close proximity to the reopened Concordia Taste restaurant and Haven square creates social functions that encourage meeting and integrating different communities.
This results in a form which appears completely different depending on the angle it is approached from. Towards the south, a slope of cascading patios offers outdoor spaces to the users of the building. The façade is floor-to-ceiling glass with vertical louvres of glass fibre concrete softening the impact of the sun without losing the vistas over the city and zoo.
Credits
Project Name: Baltyk
Location: Poznan, Poland
Year: 2011 – 2017
Client: Garvest & Vox Group
Site and Program: 25,000 m2 mixed-use tower divided into 12,000m2 office space, 750m2 panorama restaurant with a one room hotel and 1350m2 retail in the plinth.
Budget: Undisclosed
Design team: Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries with
Fokke Moerel, Roy Sieljes, Anton Wubben, Jaap Baselmans, Doris Goldstein, Maciej Grelewicz, Brygida Zawadzka, Irena Nowacka
Co- architects : Natkaniec Olechnicki Architekci
Designers: Karol Olechnicki and Paweł Natkaniec
Cooperation: Anna Piętocha, Karol Zdanuczyk, Maciej Faber and Michał Zbytniewski
Façade: Akon S.C.
Designers: Olgierd Rutnicki and Katarzyna Starzecka
Cooperation: Michał Ejsmont, Joanna Hoffmann, Piotr Kasperski, Kamila Pierunek and Łukasz Woźniak
Mechanical: Termostudio S.C.
Designers: Nikodem Frąckowiak, Rafał Pawłowski, Marek Maciejewski, Bartosz Rurek, Marek Skrocki and Dawid Nowak
Greenery: Grupa Krajobrazowa Designer: Monika Łucarz Images: Ossip van Duivenbode