A simple shape, façades without setbacks and pure lines do not necessarily make for unoriginal architecture. That is the spirit in which the architects, Kuryłowicz & Associates are working.
The architects selected Pilkington Profilit™, as Stefan Kuryłowicz pointed out, as a simple and efficient way to fulfil the required parameters: façades as semi-opaque screens and an unreal appearance.
The G. Ostervig cable harness plant was built using that system. The administrative and manufacturing complex, exceptional in terms of its simplicity, fits perfectly into the landscape of Nieporet, on the outskirts of Warsaw.
An opaque facade with an astonishing appearance
The edifice’s legibility derives from its deliberately pure lines based on a square. All the functions not related to the manufacturing hangar have been grouped in the north-east angle of the square. That space has, in turn, been subdivided into four sectors each dedicated to specific functions. The three outside squares house the offices, sanitary installations and kitchens, respectively. The fourth square, located centrally relative to the overall plan, forms an interior courtyard. The façades have been designed in accordance with the same principle: the semi-opaque square glazing is a decisive component of the lower part of the building. Only on the façade of the canteen is the rhythm broken by large clear windows, which, by alternating with the opaque glazing, form an original graphic composition.
The opaque component of the glazing consists of Pilkington Profilit™, U-profiled glass, assembled as double glazing. Two types of Pilkington Profilit™ have been used: Pilkington Profilit™ Amethyst K 25, with a bluish tint, on the outside, and Pilkington Profilit™, with a low emissivity coating, “Plus 1.7” K25, on the inside. The double glazing combination ensures very good heat insulation (U=1.8 W/m²K).
The glass components were assembled directly on site using an aluminium profile framework. The joints were caulked by hand using a special silicone sealant.
The whole formed by the bluish exterior panels and the slightly coloured interior panels creates an opaque façade with an astonishing appearance, a smoky colour with a greenish dominant hue that, as night falls, diffuses a gentle light inside the building. The weak light contributes to an atmosphere of intimacy.