ITA-TOOLS

The office building in Wieliczka is designed for ITA Tools, which sells and sharpens wood tools. Therefore for the charismatic CEO, Mr. Thomas Nieciąg, the choice of material of construction was very clear: we design with wood!
 

Composition of buildings

The building will be located on an inclined plot in a quiet part of Wieliczka with a beautiful view of the hills, towards the mine. It is to be part of a complex in which, apart from the office, there will be a warehouse and production hall.

Our first task was to correctly position these buildings, taking into account the significant fall of the land towards the road and views towards the hills. The hall, due to the accesibility of a driveway, had to be in the lowest part of the plot, right on the road. The office building therefore wandered deeper and higher. To ensure proper exposure, we used the opening between the plot border and the hall, using the ancient trick of deceiving the perspective by expanding the space from the observer, so that the building seemed closer - like, toutes proprtions gardées, on St. Peter’s Square or Capitol.

The hall is located on the road level low enough that it will not obstruct the view from the upper floors.

Spatial layout

Unlike the building in Gdańsk, this one is designed for a specific user: it is to be the headquarters of ITA Tools for a long time, testify to its position and prestige.

Hence a pinch of monumentalism in the design: on the axis of the said expanding space we have composed a slender central block, flanked by two uneven wing heights. Together, they form a classic axial - but asymmetrical! - low-high-medium composition that can bring to mind Japanese ōshakei compositions.

To slim the central body without exceeding 12 m (fire regulations), we used the vertical composition of the facade and raised it by hidden behind the same engine room facade.

The entrance is of course in the central block, we enter the high, two-story hall. From the lobby, apart from access control, they lead to the left to the conference room complex, to the right to the exhibition area.

Behind the conference team there is a kitchen and social room in one. Resting employees have at their disposal an exit to a small garden with barbecue.

In front of the exhibition part there is a carefully composed courtyard.

The second and third floor are occupied by offices. On the third, in the central part, there are boardrooms. From the offices, we can go out onto the spacious terrace above the lower block. From here and from the offices above the hall roof is the best view of the hills towards the mine.

The size of the plot means that only part of the building has a basement for underground garages; we use terrain for this purpose. We place other parking spaces in the field.

At the place where the office building will stand, there is now a warehouse building to be demolished. For technological reasons, it was necessary to demolish it gradually; We designed our building in such a way that the construction enables the operation of the part of the warehouse that has not been demolished so far and that the first stage of the new building functionally and architecturally harmonizes with this part.

The entrance is of course in the central part, we enter the high, two-story hall. From the lobby, outside the access control, we go left to the conference room complex, right to the exhibition area.

Behind the conference complex there is a kitchen and a social room in one. Resting employees have at their disposal an exit to a small garden with barbecue.

In front of the exhibition part there is a carefully composed courtyard.

The second and third floor are occupied by offices. On the third, in the central part, there are boardrooms. From the offices, we can go out onto the spacious terrace above the lower block. From here and from the offices above the hall roof is the best view of the hills towards the mine.

The size of the plot means that only part of the building has underground garages; we used the landform for this purpose. We place other parking spaces on the site.

At the place where the office building will stand, there is now a warehouse building to be demolished. For technological reasons, it was necessary to demolish it gradually; We designed our building in such a way that the construction enables the operation of the part of the warehouse that has not been demolished so far and that the first stage of the new building functionally and architecturally harmonizes with this part.

Architecture

The composition of the facades is to emphasize the composition of the blocks.

Facades open towards the hills and towards the road are glazed, with a vertical expression of division, to open the interior to the views and to display the wooden structure outside.

The sides are covered with dark, matte, small-size ceramic cladding. The triad of materials works on the principle of contrasts - matte lining vs shiny glass - warm wooden interior vs coolness of glass - smoothness of aluminum vs roughness of the cladding.

The whole is a balanced, calm, ecological, open, self-confident architecture with a pinch of dignity: according to the customer's idea - ITA Tools company.

Construction

Like in Gdańsk, apart from the cores, the entire structure is wooden - posts and frames made of glued wood, and CLT ceilings cooperating with them. However, the fact that the building is to remain the client's headquarters in the foreseeable time freed us from the need to use typical 8.1 x 8.1 m office modules - spans in the main part of the building do not exceed 6 m. This and the existence of opaque walls, which can also be a stiffener, greatly simplified rigidity system. The exceptions are, of course, the lobby spaces and the conference section: here we have larger spans - here, in order not to increase the height of the beams, we use their appropriate density.

The installations are designed on a similar principle as in Gdańsk; what we can we hide under the raised floor, the rest is exposed under the ceiling.

The whole is a balanced, calm, ecological, open, self-confident architecture with a pinch of dignity: according to the client's idea, ITA Tools.

Designing these buildings is a great adventure for us: we have the impression of creating something innovative with centuries of tradition of wooden construction behind us.

We hope to break the 12 m barrier soon and design something a little higher.