S U Z A N N E O ’ D O N O V A N + K O S T A S I P E I R O T I S PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE YEAR 2 / ARCH568 > URBAN STRATEGY

U R B A N S Y N T H E S I SM I E J S K A S Y N T E Z A

Diagnosis >>

Intervention >>

Intervention Prognosis >>

Prognosis >>

L: #1-5 years: Meanwhile Uses

I: #3-10+ years: Bioremediation as a Catalyst

L/I/G: Possible Outcomes

G: #8+ years: District Symbiosis

THIS IS OUR STRATEGY - WHICH IS PHASED OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS AND SCALES. WE’VE ALSO USED THE ANALOGY OF PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE AS A TOOL TO DISCUSS BOTH OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PLACE, THE INTERVENTIONS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING AND WHAT WE FORECAST AS A SPATIAL AND SOCIAL OUTCOME.THE FOCUS OF OUR STRATEGY IS ON EARLY INTERVENTIONS - WHICH WE ARE ALSO TERMING AS MEANWHILE USES. REALLY, WHAT WE ARE SAYING IS THAT THESE MEANWHILE USES COULD JUST BE TEMPORARY - OR THEY COULD BE A CATALYST THAT LEADS TO SOMETHING ELSE. WE’RE LEAVING IT OPEN.HOWEVER, WE DO THEN EXPLORE SOME ‘WHAT IFS’ THAT MIGHT COME OUT OF THESE CATALYSTS. WE CALL THESE EXPLORATIONS INTERVENTION PROGNOSES. FINALLY, WE EXPLORE THE possible spatial outcomes IF SOME OR ALL OF THESE interventions ARE IMPLEMENTED.

EU ACCESSION + GLOBAL CLIMATE ISSUES ENERGY / WASTE / WATER

GLOBAL

DIAGNOSIS >>

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OF COURSE, BEFORE WE STARTED ANYTHING WE HAD A NUMBER OF PRECONCEPTIONS, AND READINGS OF THE SITE, THE DISTRICT AND THE SOCIO-POLITICAL SITUATION IN URSUS, AND POLAND. AT THE GLOBAL SCALE, WE WERE MADE AWARE OF ISSUES CONCERNING WASTE MANAGEMENT WHILE IN URSUS, AND AFTERWARDS WHILST RESEARCHING FOR THE BRIEFING DOCUMENT, IT BECAME APPARENT THAT POLAND HAS A LOT TO DO IN ORDER TO COME UP TO SCRATCH IN TERMS OF WASTE, WATER AND OF COURSE, ENERGY.

GARDENERS + FARMERSENTREPRENEURIALISM >> COTTAGE INDUSTRY

INTERMEDIATE

DIAGNOSIS >>

SECONDLY, IN WALKING AROUND THE DISTRICT, WE IDENTIFIED FIRSTLY A NUMBER OF CHARACTERISTICS WITHIN THE AREA - DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS OF HOUSING TYPOLOGIES, WHICH IMPACTED ON LIFESTYLE, AND OPPORTUNITY. WE NOTICED WHAT SEEMED TO BE A HIGH PROPORTION OF BACKYARD BUSINESSES - PARTICULARLY IN THE AREAS OF SINGLE FAMILY PRIVATE HOMES WHERE THERE WAS OPPORTUNITY TO SET UP SHOP IN A BACK YARD SHED. ANOTHER THING THAT IS PERTINENT TO OUR STRATEGY IS HOW SUB-URBAN THIS AREA IS. IT IS AT THE LITERAL EDGE OF WARSAW, SO MUCH SO THAT WE DIDN’T HAVE TO WALK FAR TO REACH FARMLAND, NOT THE MENTION THE LARGE GARDENS IN THE DISTRICT. THIS IS OF COURSE PART OF THE PICTURE OF WARSAW AS QUITE A GREENED CITY OF FORESTS AND ALLOTMENTS. IN URSUS, THERE ISN’T SO MUCH FORMALISED PARKS AND FORESTS, AS THERE IS PRIVATE GREEN SPACE.

DERELICT / ABANDONED SITES + BUILDINGS - SYMPTOM OR CAUSE?

LOCAL

DIAGNOSIS >>

AT THE SITE SCALE, THE DERELICT BUILDINGS SEEMED TO BE ADDING TO THE PERCEPTION OF THIS PLACE AS ABANDONED, AND NOT IN USE AND [PROBABLY CELTIC WERE EXPLOITING THIS] BUT WE DID WONDER IF THE DERELICT BUILDINGS WERE A SYMPTOM OR A CAUSE OF THE CURRENT SPATIAL AND POLITICAL SITUATION.

SO.... WITH THESE ISSUES IN MIND, THE QUESTION WE NEXT ASKED IS WHAT DO WE WANT TO DO WITH THIS? WHAT IS OUR GOAL?

ur·ban / miejska [miasto]! :of, relating to, characteristic of, or constituting a city

syn·the·sis / synteza!! :the composition or combination of parts or elements so as to form a whole

! :the production of a substance by the union of chemical elements, groups, or simpler compounds ! ! or by the degradation of a complex compound

! :the combining of often diverse conceptions into a coherent whole; also : the complex so formed

! :the dialectic combination of thesis and antithesis into a higher stage of truth

our goal is, as the title of our project suggests - an urban synthesis for Ursus - a vision whereby industry and sites of production are not separated from people, and sites of consumption. A more coherant whole, if you like. However, we believe it would be a mistake to impose this vision on the current situation and that the entire district needs to undergo both a physical and mental shift in order to allow this process to naturally happen - and of course to gain buy-in from actors and stakeholders.

MEANWHILE USES >>[TEMPORARILY] RE-OCCUPYING + INHABITING VACANT/ABANDONED BUILDINGS/PLOTS

So, the essence of our strategy is a series, or a collection of quick, relatively low cost and temporary events, or uses of available buildings or land. The aim is to get people into the tractory site - using the space, without detracting from the current functions - rather we see our proposals as a layering of uses.

INTERVENTION >> THE ARTS AS A CATALYST

‘Street art is the ability to contribute to: the space, the city and the art. Street art is an extension of natural energy, which gives the city a whole new character. This is a manifestation of constructive dissent’

Katowice Street Art Festival Website

the first part of our proposal is the tranformation of large parts of the tractory site into an outdoor gallery. There are a lot of large, blank facades, over long blocks with a homogenous yellow finish that only serves to emphasise the inhumane scale of the place. Our proposal is a street art festival where local, national and international artists are invited to use these giant facades as a canvas to provide instant aesthetic improvement that could be used to showcase their work, advertise whats going on inside the building, celebrate the cultural and industrial heritage of this place. It might also go someway towards breaking up these large facades with frequent interuptions in colour, texture or, just, interest.

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INTERVENTION >> THE ARTS AS A CATALYST

This could be done over a weekend, perhaps recuring every couple of years - so that the canvas is ever changing. Part of this could also involve local community art groups and local actors such as Arsus, Raphael who could potentially apply for funding from the Culture Office in the City and implement the project. As a spatial strategy, we have identified that the most appropriate buildings and spaces have formed this promenade connecting the isolated large buildings in the north of the site to the more inhabited, and smaller scale areas in the south of the site.

INTERVENTION >> ALLOTMENTS

The second proposal is about tapping into the existing culture of gardening, farming and allotment tending in the district and city. There is so much empty space - even in between buildings that could be used for more productive purposes. Of course, there are issues with contaminants, so we would propose that this gardening be done on raised beds, or through closed systems such as hydroponics, or aquaponics.

INTERVENTION >> ALLOTMENTS

This type of cultivating would then also be mobile, so given that this is proposed as a temporary measure, cultivators could move relatively easy to the different phases of the proposal. We’ve identified a number of local actors that might be able to make this happen - such as Arsus, or the Ursus Ecological Association. It was also make sense to our hosts in the negotation for temporary land use, as well as the local council for management and allocation of plots. A local organisation called piXXe could also facilitate a community garden.

INTERVENTION >> ENTERPRISE INCUBATOR

The third meanwhile proposal taps into the entrepreneurial spirit of Ursus. It occured to us that probably, many of the people living in the Communal Apartment Blocks don’t have the same opportunity to experiment with a business idea and so are unable to take a safe risk. Our proposed incubator facility, which initially makes use of vacant buildings, but could then move to temporary shipping containers, offers one year rent free to encourage entrepreneurialism to those who might not otherwise be able to initiate it. This proposal also relates to two current EU funded projects called Human Capital and Innovative Economy which is pushing for more entrepreneurialism in the EU as a whole. There is lots of funding for enterprise initiatives and with the help of local agency, Zloty Srodek, enterprises could be mentored and supported with EU funding.

INTERVENTION >> ALLOTMENTS + ENTERPRISE...

One idea relating to both this part of the proposal and the allotments is a Milk Bar - one which itilises the produce from local allotments, farmers and industries on site, creates again a new enterprise as well as creating a social hub on the site.

INTERVENTION >> BIOREMEDIATION

PHYTODEGRADATION

PHYTOVOLATISATION

PHYTOSTABILISATION

PHYTOEXTRACTION

Pollutant accumulates in harvestable parts of plant tissue

roots enhance microbial activity in rhizosphere leading to degradation of pollutants

pollutant is immobilised but remains in soil

Pollutant removed from soil and released into atmosphere

in volatile form

organic pollutants broken down by plant metabolism

PHYTOSTIMULATION

The last part of our intervention phase is a little more long term. We are proposed that while some sites remain empty, that they be bio-remediated through planting of certain plants which act in different ways to extract, remove, stabilise, metabolise or degrade some of the contaminants in the soil. This proposal perhaps requires the most investment [in terms of time, space and finance] and expertise in order to design the most appropriate phytoremediation scheme. Additionally, some contaminants would take less time than others so further study would need to determine how this would happen.

INTERVENTION >> BIOREMEDIATION

All of the vacant sites could be bio-remediated but we see this as being quite sequential allotments moving around, while sites become clean. As for the sites on which building’s stand - this is probably a much longer term issue but while some of the bioremediation might be able to happen quickly, this is in general, a long term proposition.

SO.... WHAT IF? >>WHAT IF THESE TEMPORARY PROPOSALS LED TO SOMETHING ‘LESS TEMPORARY’?

So, then we explore some ‘what ifs’ - in other words, some potential outcomes that might result from what initially were intended as meanwhile uses. What if these became more than meanwhile?

INTERVENTION PROGNOSIS >> BIOREMEDIATION AS A CATALYST

The first thing we looked at was how while bio-remediating the site, the crop could also be layered for other uses. For example, industrial hemp has been proven to be an effective bioremediator, it is also high in biomass and has a number of industrial applications from its fibre properties

INTERVENTION PROGNOSIS >> RENEWABLE RAW MATERIALS

such as paper [which can be seen in our printed booklet], clothing, building materials, cosmetics and plastics. There is also growing research into the medicinal properties of cannibas - although this would likely require enlightened policies on behalf of the Polish state.

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INTERVENTION PROGNOSIS >> RENEWABLE RAW MATERIALS

crop > harvest > fibre processing > design > manufacturing > retail > consume

What we are trying to indicate here is the number of possibilities that this one plant could use and how this could either provide an alternative raw material for existing industries, provide a research topic for a new enterprise on site - a catalyst really for alternative or new activities.

INTERVENTION PROGNOSIS >> BIOMASS

Industrial hemp is also high in biomass, and being a fast growing crop could be used as biofuel for energy. What we don’t know is how safe it is to use a contaminated crop to either burn, or for use in manufacturing. Because of this, we would suggest that the Polish Institite for Natural Fibres be involved with the project to research and monitor the potential for this kind of layered use.

WASTE

ENERGY

INTERVENTION PROGNOSIS >> WASTE AS NOURISHMENT

The second, What if, explores the potential for a greater symbiosis between waste and energy on site, and with the district of Ursus.

INTERVENTION PROGNOSIS >> WASTE AS NOURISHMENT

In this proposal, waste [sewage and municipal waste] [exploited from the district] is seen a source of fuel that can be converted into energy, along with perhaps the biomass crops. we propose that Energetyka Ursus would be the primary actor in making this happen - which potentially expand their current infrastructure activities to include municipal waste sorting, and distribution for recycling and upcycling. This would be the beginning of a symbiosis within the district.

INTERVENTION PROGNOSIS >> BY-PRODUCT: CLEAN WATER

The added bonus of waste to energy is the by-product of water which would be treated [mostly] on the proposed constructed wetlands to the top of the site. We have calculated that this area could cope with aproximately 1/3 of the waste water produced and so we also propose a series of constructed wetlands throughout the district which combined would have the capacity to metabolise all of Ursus’ wastewater. As the population grows, new wetlands would need to be added.

INTERVENTION PROGNOSIS >> DISTRICT SYMBIOSIS

INDUSTRIAL WASTE WATER

CHEMICAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT

CLEAN WATER DISCHARGED INTO VISTULA BASIN

INDUSTRIAL WASTE BYPRODUCT

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

SEWAGE

RAINWATER HARVESTING

ENERGY (POWER)

ENERGY (FOOD)

PHYTOREMEDIATION

BIOMASS

ENERGY (FOOD)

ENERGY (POWER)

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS

GREY WATER

Ultimately, what we are looking at is a district symbiosis - waste is energy. water is harvested, purified and safely discharged into the water table.

INTERVENTION PROGNOSIS >> AN ALTERNATIVE FUTURE FOR OLIGOCENE WELLS?

And so, if this eventually leads to the river water becoming good enough to drink - what then for the 110 Oligocene Wells in Warsaw? Firstly, they would need to be used so much which might allow the deep aquifers to recover. Secondly, what of the space on the surface? Could these wells be re-imagined as a community space? A play-space? From what was a daily drudgery these wells could become a natural community space.

AND IN THE LONG TERM? >>COULD THE TRACTORY SITE BE INTEGRATED MORE INTO ITS RESIDENTIAL CONTEXT?

And so, finally, we ask - what could all of this mean for Ursus in the long term - if some, or all of these interventions were implemented, if on a temporary basis, or a not-so-temporary basis?

STRATEGY PROGNOSIS >> PERMEABILITY

We’d like to see the site become more permeable and imagine that it might start to look something like this based on where people might be and how through movement to various destinations, a number of paths might emerge as key routes within the site, to the site, and through the site. As more of the large plots become available, could the scale become more humane through this sort of natural appropriation?

STRATEGY PROGNOSIS >> PERMEABILITY

Part of this permeability would also be through frequency of differing facades, scales and more interesting frontages.

STRATEGY PROGNOSIS >> INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE

- INVESTMENT FEASBILITY- PLACES OF CULTURAL VALUE + MEANING

The second thing we would like to see is a revitalisation of the industrial and architectural hertiage on the site. We’ve already proposed a potential use for this building [owned by Celtic] which might relate to research and development of natural fibres.

STRATEGY PROGNOSIS >> INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE

- THE ‘HOPS’ BUILDINGS- A NEW HOME FOR URSUS’ ARTS + CULTURE, CINEMA, THEATRE, RESTAURANTS, BREWERY [CONNECTED TO HOPS GROWN ON ALLOTMENTS], GALLERY, POP-UP SHOPS, SMALL BUSINESSES ETC

Based on what we have read on Ursus’ resident’s forums, we believe that a cultural centre might be feasible in the large, derelict building next to Asmet. We call this the hops building because of the hop plants that were naturally growing on it and so this has, obviously, led to us proposing a micro-brewery, alongside a new home for Arsus, a cinema, theatre, gallery, pop-up shops and so on. We believe this building’s location gives it great potential to become the cultural heart of Ursus.

STRATEGY PROGNOSIS >> HOUSING?

And, we ask the question - could housing now be appropriate in this place? Would residents of Ursus gradually start to infiltrate and occupy this place, bringing with them their backyard industries and gardens?

STRATEGY PROGNOSIS >> HOUSING?

And, could this place integrate everyday life with the spaces of material production?

STRATEGY PROGNOSIS >> INHABITATION > DIVERSITY > WELLBEING

And, what could this mean for the district as a whole? rather than a bedroom suburb? Could this place be a hub? An attractor in itself, rather than a cheap place to live on the edge of Warsaw?

STRATEGY PROGNOSIS >>Open-Ended......

Our strategy as you’ve seen is very much about front ended initiatives that may, or may not lead to a chain of events that may lead to this synthesis that we are seeking. We’re leaving what might happen next open-ended and simply trying to put in place a framework that would facilitate a move towards synthesis.

We’re aware that we’ve covered a very broad spectrum of issues dealing with things from energy, environment, jobs, arts, leisure which has perhaps meant that issues are discussed in a lighter way rather than delving deeping into a more resolved proposal. This is something that we decided to do consciously - where we intended to write the first act and then see what happens.