UMCS Ecological Education Centre in the Botanical Garden in Lublin
Description
The design for the UMCS Ecological Education Centre in Lublin, set in the university's Botanical Garden, covers the conversion and extension of a Maria Curie-Skłodowska University administrative building with a section for ecological education. It was prepared in 2017. The new part houses a lecture and laboratory suite, staff facilities and storage where the Botanical Garden's plants are kept over winter. The extension directly adjoins the existing low building – hence a simple, flat-roofed volume that competes neither with the existing buildings nor with the garden. On the garden side, large glazed walls open the interior to the greenery, partly repeated on the entrance side. Shading is provided by timber fins and an entrance pergola. The entrance hall, in the existing part of the building, features a wall of light clay blocks, while the teaching rooms and the vestibule have walls covered in greenery. These solutions are justified on two counts: they promote sustainable construction and genuinely maintain appropriate air humidity in the building. The use of natural materials – timber and clay – is not mere decoration here but part of the building's educational programme: it teaches through its very fabric.
Phase: concept, building and detailed design, 2017
Design team: Ewelina Siestrzewitowska, Mateusz Gierszon
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energy standard: compliant with Technical Conditions (WT)
additional: use of natural materials such as wood and clay
The presented project concerns the redevelopment and extension of the administrative building of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University with a part intended for ecological education. The building is located within the Botanical Garden in Lublin.
The new building will contain a lecture-and-laboratory part, staff facilities, and a storage part intended for keeping the Botanical Garden's plants over the winter.
The new part of the building directly adjoins the low (4 m high) existing building, which led to the decision to create a simple form with a flat roof. Large glazed surfaces were designed with a view of the greenery from the botanical garden side, and partial glazing from the entrance side. Wooden fins and the entrance pergola serve a shading function.
The entrance hall was designed in the existing part of the building. The hall features a wall made of lightweight clay blocks, while the educational rooms and vestibule have walls overgrown with greenery — elements promoting sustainable construction and also maintaining the appropriate humidity level in the building.