Transfer Center, Żory, Poland

LABORATORIUM ARCHITEKTURY Architects: Anna Małek, Tomasz Błażyca, Bartosz Garczarczyk, Paweł Maryńczuk Photos: Tomasz Zakrzewski The new interchange hub in Żory is a public space that combines the functions of a station, a square and a meeting place. The priority in the design of the bus station was the safety and comfort of the passengers. An attempt was made to merge the pedestrian area within one island – a waiting area around which the individual platforms are located. Thanks to this, pedestrian traffic could be separated from road traffic. The use of clinker in the floor and walls around the square is a tribute to the historical buildings of the old town. The intention of the designers was to create a building that would not be a traditional block, but rather an element formally limiting the space. As a result, the station is bounded by a glass façade, which makes it fully transparent – the border between the interior and the surroundings is lost. Located in the central part of the square, it allows the passengers inside to observe life outside undisturbed. The levitating canopy extends far beyond the outline of the building, protecting passengers on the platforms from the weather. The wide eaves serve as a shade for the glass façade. They protect the building from overheating in summer, allowing the sun to penetrate in winter, which translates into a significant reduction in energy consumption for heating and cooling. After sunset, the building starts to shine with its own light. The architect's intention was to use discreet light sources which would emphasise the minimalist form of the station building on the one hand and create a safe and recognisable public space of the Interchange Hub on the other. The concept of lighting the square around the building is based on a single type of LED luminaire and consists in reversing the typical pattern where the light source is located above the surface. In the case of the Interchange Hub, LUG RUNA 4 LED luminaires were installed in the floor. These luminaires uniformly illuminate the intrados, thanks to which the square is illuminated by soft reflected light, and the roofing itself seems to levitate above it. Optimised lighting has given character to this part of the city and emphasised the architectural expression of the building. The effect of the overall illumination of the station was achieved by using only a single type of luminaire.