New coach station

with the development of the areas around the railway station in Kołobrzeg

DISTINCTION IN THE SARP ARCHITECTURAL AND URBAN COMPETITION, 2016

Design team:

Ewelina Siestrzewitowska

MAIN ASSUMPTIONS OF THE CONCEPT

The primary aim of the project is to create a set of spaces that would allow a convenient, functional and attractive connection between the spa district and the rest of the town

to shape a functional interchange hub serving, in the most compact way possible, all means of transport operating in Kołobrzeg

to create an attractive and representative public space in the areas adjoining the railway station

The project proposes to achieve these aims by creating and appropriately developing two main functional and spatial routes within the study area:

a new underground passage beneath the tracks

new pedestrian and cycle boulevards around the central station hub

The underground passage is approached from both sides of the railway tracks by recreational squares set in a depression – at the level of the passage. These squares are at the same time nodes connecting the underground passage with the new boulevards.

The underground passage is simultaneously the axis integrating the station halls, waiting rooms, ticket halls and departure platforms of the PKP railway, PKS coaches and the Light Coastal Railway, as well as the underground car park arranged along it, forming an integrated interchange hub.

BOULEVARDS AND NEW DEVELOPMENT OF THE CENTRAL AREA

The pedestrian and cycle boulevards designed around the station hub were created along the present Kolejowa and Zdrojowa streets, a fragment of Reymonta Street and the new footbridge over the tracks.

This space was created by closing Kolejowa Street to vehicle traffic and by using the disused areas between the railway tracks and Zdrojowa Street.

In order to make use of the areas by the railway station and to shape well-functioning and attractive public spaces, we proposed developing the entire strip of land on both sides of the railway tracks, from Reymonta Street to the new pedestrian and cycle footbridge, and placing within it functions that activate the adjoining new public spaces.

This is a forward-looking proposal and does not have to be carried out all at once – it is possible to build only the station hub. The question of phasing is discussed further in the study.

We proposed creating a group of buildings of coherent architecture and dimensions similar to the surrounding development. On the station side we proposed mainly 2-storey buildings, not exceeding the height of the existing railway station, with partly pitched roofs, while on the Zdrojowa Street side – 2- and 3-storey buildings with flat roofs.

The proposed arrangement of functions in the planned development is linked to an attempt to create a boulevard of a commercial and service character along Zdrojowa Street – a contemporary "shopping street" – and a boulevard of public services (transport and culture) along the station park (on the site of the present Kolejowa Street), ending on the axis of the entrance to the existing building of the Regional Cultural Centre.

Accordingly, we proposed arranging the functions of

hotel, office and entertainment, with retail, services and dining on the ground floors – on the side of the spa district

transport and culture (e.g. exhibition galleries, museums, cinemas) on the side of the town centre

In addition, on the town-centre side we retained the existing function of the health clinic and proposed dedicating one of the buildings to additional railway-related functions (warehouses/offices – as needed).

The boulevards together with the footbridge form one coherent public space, and this coherence is achieved through the uniformity of the paving and street furniture. The street furniture – benches, planters with greenery, resting pergolas – and the dining on the ground floors, together with the width of the boulevards (13 m including the cycle paths), are meant to make the boulevards perceived and used as attractive public spaces, not merely as a "passage".

Within the boulevards, public toilets and bicycle service points were also provided – repair stations, bike racks and a bike rental point.

UNDERGROUND PASSAGE AND INTEGRATED INTERCHANGE STATION

The decision on the location of the underground passage results from an analysis of the spatial and functional conditions and from an attempt to find a location that would integrate as many interchange-hub functions as possible and provide a convenient connection between the town centre and the beach.

The proposed location provides the shortest connection between the town centre from Dworcowa Street – planned as a future representative public space (a planned woonerf) – and the spa area, with convenient access to the beach along Konopnickiej Street.

The entrances to the underground passage on each side are through lowered recreational squares, on which retail and dining functions with outdoor café gardens and landscape elements (an amphitheatre-shaped slope, greenery compositions, a fountain) were placed, in order to activate the squares and encourage users to use the underground passage.

The chosen location of the underground passage, directly adjacent to the existing railway station building, makes it possible to connect it with the PKP platforms and the station building without interfering with its historic part.

Along the underground passage, a new PKS coach station building was also located, together with an underground departure/arrival platform, and a building of the Light Coastal Railway with a new platform.

The Light Coastal Railway building was designed at the end of the axis – by the exit from the underground passage on the spa-district side. Thus the square leading into the underground passage from this side is at the same time the LCR station square. Just behind the building, an LCR platform is proposed. In the LCR station building, at platform level, station-related functions are envisaged – ticket offices, toilets, a waiting room, and if needed also a tourist information point or a luggage store – while at the level of the square and the underground passage a dining function is proposed.

From the lowered square by the LCR building it is also possible to reach the underground car parks located beneath the office, retail and hotel buildings, which could also serve the transport hub. However, building this passage is not essential and depends on the strategy of the City of Kołobrzeg regarding the location of car parks in the vicinity of the transport hub.

The underground passage has, on each side, connections to the present ground level and to the transport functions, adapted for people with disabilities.

NEW PKS COACH STATION

The new PKS coach station building was located next to the existing railway station in such a way that the entrance to the newly designed underground passage lies exactly between these buildings. Above the entrance to the underground passage, a waiting-room pavilion with a café function was designed, connecting the two station buildings at ground-floor level.

From the waiting-room pavilion, a passage and lifts were designed to the level of the underground passage leading to the PKP and LCR platforms and to the level of the PKS platforms.

The PKS platforms were located directly beneath the PKS station building and the adjacent planned building, for which a cultural and service function is proposed. Directly behind the PKS platforms, an underground coach park was designed.

Access for coaches and minibuses to the PKS platform level takes place at the site of the present exit from Kniewska Street into Kolejowa Avenue. Thus the access to the station and the PKS station are located where they are today, only lowered to level -1 and reorganised. Lowering the platform level to -1 allows public space and a park to be recovered at ground level and corresponds to current standards, already being introduced in Poland as well (e.g. the coach stations in Katowice or Kraków). The direct connection of the station platform with the entrance to the underground passage and the square in front of it allows the platform to be partly opened in order to provide the required air exchange on the station platform.

The new PKS coach station building is organised analogously to the existing PKP railway station building, in order to achieve a clear functional layout for residents and tourists.

It contains a ticket hall, toilets, a tourist information point, a luggage store and also a retail part on the boulevard side. An office part is envisaged on the 1st floor.

PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLE FOOTBRIDGE

The boulevards on both sides of the railway tracks, on the eastern side, were designed to rise gently to the level of the footbridge over the tracks. Analogously to the rising of the boulevards, the arrangement of levels in the buildings adjoining the footbridge was envisaged. Dining and service functions are to be located on the levels accessible from the rising boulevards.

The rising boulevards and the footbridge over the railway tracks formed by their junction have a proposed width of 13 m, which allows the following to be accommodated within them:

pedestrian traffic lanes

a cycle path

resting and recreation lanes – by the cafés/restaurants located in the adjoining buildings (café gardens), as well as standalone ones, separated by wooden decking and complemented with planters, resting pergolas and benches

points of vertical circulation – flights of stairs and lifts, allowing access onto the footbridge from every possible side

The area beneath the rising boulevards is largely used for the entry of coaches and minibuses to the PKS station. On the ground floors of the buildings beneath the footbridge, a retail function or bike rental points and public toilets are proposed.

The footbridge was located at the site of the most representative crossing from this part of the town towards the beach.

The planned footbridge together with the boulevards is intended to be one of the 3 most important approaches from the town centre to the beach. It was decided that this should be a representative, wide and elegant approach. Accordingly, we propose closing part of Norwida Street to vehicle traffic. Norwida Street is currently a dead-end street with only 1 exit to a hotel car park. It is therefore of marginal importance for vehicle traffic but of enormous importance for pedestrian traffic – even now, with the existing rather inconvenient footbridge. Closing it allows a representative space to be created, connecting the station square with the beach and the spa district.

We propose access to the northern part of Norwida Street via Rafińskiego Street (changed to two-way) and creating a pedestrian-and-vehicle route in the other part, or closing Norwida Street to vehicle traffic entirely.