Widna Haven - Community Centre and Library

The buildings are located around a square that is positioned lower than the surroundings and at the same time elevated above the level of the street intersection. This solution allowed for the design of terraced seating and integration into the sloping terrain. The amphitheater-like seating allows for meetings, lectures, and outdoor film screenings to be held. With older people in mind, seats and chess tables have been planned in the sunny part of the square, sunk into the greenery, guaranteeing privacy and peace. Both buildings hold an open, free public program for the neighborhood.

The main idea was to create a contemporary public space that combines the functions of a meeting place, a place for relaxation and interaction between different age and social groups gathered around the Community Center and Library buildings. One of the most important objectives was to design an intimate, internal square, which was created by the appropriate location of the buildings on the plot. It enables the Community Centre to carry out its tasks in a difficult location, on the busy, main intersection of the district. The buildings act as an acoustic barrier, closed off from busy streets, opening up to the internal square. The architecture maintains human scale, fits into the existing urban fabric by preserving existing paths, and takes advantage of the sloping terrain by using it as seating area. The building aims to blur boundaries between interior and exterior, by the use of the same terrazzo flooring inside and outside, encouraging users to take advantage of the entire space.

The buildings form a compositional and material unity with the square and urban design elements. The bespoke three color terazzo flooring of the square connects with the buildings' interiors, and similar wooden elements appear both on the façade and seating, creating an optical and physical connection between the architecture and its surroundings. The anodized aluminium window frames, have appropriately proportioned openings that do not overwhelm with the amount of glazing, and match the character of surrounding residential buildings. The southern façade is made of wooden slats, which, due to their three dimensional structure, increase the effectiveness of it working as an acoustic screen and provide a base for climbing plants. The façade facing the internal square is plastered in off-white, in accordance with the guidelines of the city codes. The simple, basic construction methods and materials, thoughtful use of space and volume of the buildings account for its sustainability.