Dominika
Bednarz
WHAT
Equestrian Centre
"Wonderland"
Equestrian centre with owner's house
WHERE
Swilcza,
Poland
WHEN
November 2017
- February 2018
Spirit of the horse
Horses are amazing and mysterious animals. Discovering their personality is a great adventure, which is why each of them should be treated individually. The horse not only learns from the rider, it can teach his owner even more - humility, patience and respect. Horse riding is a discipline which not only has a positive effect on the figure and stimulates the mind, but also allows us to interact with nature and animals.
Designing a stable or equestrian centre is a challenge worthy of every architect. Like in making any other project, it's necessary to listen to customers and listen to their requests, requirements and aspirations. Not being able to talk to the horses that will be real inhabitants of designed place, I was forced to dialogue with those who know them and work with them. The best and the wisest adviser was my sister - Patrycja, a a professional western rider, who not only showed and explained everything to me, but also helped with the design itself.
Creating a suitable environment for living and developing these beautiful and gentle beings can undoubtedly be considered a great achievement. Unique and intimate relationships arise between horses and people who train and care for them.
My goal was to design "Wonderland" as a space that protects and nurtures these relationships.
Patrycja Bednarz professional equestrian western rider, Janiowe Wzgórze 2018
Location
Swilcza is a rural commune in the Podkarpackie voivodship, in the Rzeszów county. It is located about 11 kilometers east of Rzeszów, by the road to Krakow. Swilcza stretches to 18.6 km2, it is inhabited by about 3,100 inhabitants. It is the second largest (after Bratkowice) village of the commune. It is located in lowland agricultural and fruit areas.
The history of the village dates back to the 14th century and was focused on the development of the parish there, and as a thriving economically and socially settled village, it distinguished itself by wealth and civic attitude in the wider area.
Swilcza is an old, over six hundred-year-old settlement, whose roots date back to the fourteenth century. Its original name was Svincza. From the very beginning of its existence, Swilcza was associated with Rzeszów. She belonged to the vast goods of Jan Pakoslawica - the first master in Rzeszów, followed by his successors. Historically, Swilcza is also an old parish. The metrics match the establishment of a settlement. At the same time, it was a very large and populous parish. During its long history, Swilcza, a dynamically prosperous and social settlement, was distinguished by wealth and civic attitude in the broadly understood area. In feudal times, it belonged to the distinguished magnate families: Ostrogscy, Lubomirski and Potocki, at the turn of the 18th and the 19th century, it passed into the hands of the Skarbek-Borowtski Counts. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a few hundred hectares of court property was bought by Jews and parceled out, giving inhabitants the opportunity to expand their farms and thus increase their wealth.
​
The face of modern Swilcza has been shaped by many investments undertaken in the next decades of the second half of the twentieth century. These were mainly entry-level but also monumental ventures such as: electrification, gasification, melaorisation, telephonisation, and sewerage. There were investments of cultural, educational and religious objects: church, school, kindergarten, fireman's home, etc.
​
Currently, it is a dynamically developing village, with an ever-increasing number of inhabitants - a constant inflow of urban population, moving to calmer rural areas from the city.
The idea of the project
The equestrian centre in Swilcza near Rzeszów was inspired by contemporary Danish architecture. It is the quintessence of what is human: creating community, functionality, useful and sustainable technological solutions, caring for the right aesthetics, mirroring the human desire for intimate contact with the world, being part of the untouched nature and benefiting from its benefits.
The essence of Danish housing today is to blend in with the surroundings, use its values, highlight the beauty of nature, which coherently interacts with the solids of buildings.
The aim of the project was to design a riding complex with a three-generation house for the owners and the development of a huge plot with unlimited possibilities. Excellent location - open spaces, fields and meadows are an ideal area for this assumption. The neighbourhood of a large village and city guarantees a year-round interest in the complex.
The centre's offer would include:
• horse riding lessons for beginners and advanced
• hippotherapy
• a guest house for horses
• indoor riding hall
• the possibility of organizing events, e.g. occupations
• sleigh rides and carriage rides - attractive conditions for organized groups
According to the assumptions of the project, two horse breeds will be bred in the stables:
• Shire horse
• Quarter Horse
Centre was located away from the city noise and noise, buildings and busy streets. Designed in the midst of a large open space, surrounded by greenery and fields, in the immediate vicinity of the forest, so that you can not only go on rides and trips to the area. The proximity of the fields ensures the self-sufficiency of the complex, allowing all necessary crops and independent agricultural production.
The pastures are located along the road to the stable on both sides, and not only the fence, but also the tree line separates them from the main road. Fenced with a classic wooden fence of pasture is one of the most important places in the complex. After the training the horses are released so that they can rest and live freely according to their nature - to nibble grass, run and use space. The animals spend in the stables - this is the reality - most of the day. The owners come to them for an hour or two, after riding (usually in the hall) they close their mounts in a box, treat it like a device, which is put into a corner after use. According to the assumptions of the project, horses can spend as much time as possible on pastures together, with the entire herd instead of standing in boxes. Horses are animals of open space, their instinct to escape and defence within a fraction of a second can be heard as they did. The world that man has created for horses is not adapted to their needs: stables, transport trailers and fences are not compatible with the nature of a horse. We should provide them with maximum contact with nature, instead of blocking herd's life.
The Centre was inspired by baroque palace layouts - horizontally expanded, often with side wings form a U-shaped plan. Baroque shaped the type of palace referred to as entre cour et jardin. The building was preceded by a courtyard and behind it was a garden and park with geometrically designed lawns, flowerbeds, shrubs and tree clusters. Small, decorative pavilions and gazebos were arranged in the gardens. The palace and its surroundings form a harmonious architectural complex. To emphasize the symmetry of the complex - the central part of the building was extended - a huge riding hall with party facilities. Simple, almost ascetic construction, devoid of decorative details - it promotes energy efficiency, eliminating the risk of leakage, through which heat can escape from the inside. The Baroque axis of symmetry has been broken down by placing the three-generation house of the owners - outbuildings are located on the north-south axis, and the house on the east-west axis.
​
The building's solid combines a Baroque layout and a simple style of the so-called "modern barns" Cost-effective simplicity, timeless combinations of the best materials - wood, metal and fine white, make the complex stand out with this landscape background while perfectly matching it and diversifying its flat character.
​
The choice of materials was not accidental, it was focused on the tradition and archetype of the village in which the complex will be created. The most important material and foundation of the entire building is the beautiful, light wood of Scandinavian ash, which has been located in several patterns to create interesting facade using only one material. The wood was combined with a roof and façade cladding made of graphite flat sheet joined with a standing seam. The simplicity of the façade and roofs combined with modern systems for draining and storing rainwater and obtaining solar energy guarantees a high self-sufficiency of the enterprise.
The object perfectly shows the rhythm and modularity - through a perfectly symmetrical arrangement of windows and doors. Designed numerous glazing correspond with the surroundings and break the minimalism of the means of expression, in addition, they add lumps of lightness and blur the border between the interior and the greenery.
​
The entrance door to the stables was highlighted by a dark strip of metal with wooden accents. The entrance zone of the house has been stepped back to protect the household from rain, covered with sheet metal in wooden accents. An additional element making the zone attractive is the cover made of openwork - it attracts attention and directs arriving people.
The interior of the stable is designed so that the horses can move freely. There is no squeeze, wide doors and the passages allow you to move freely around the stable. The functional plan of the complex was arranged so that the use of buildings was comfortable and logical. Stables consist of two parallel horse boxes separated by a wide, comfortable passage. The boxes are large and spacious made with straw, each of them is equipped with a feeder and automatic drinking bowl. They were separated by a combination of steel and ash wood, they have a window through which horses can look outside the boxes. Each box also has a roof window , inside there is as much natural light as possible. The walls were finished with vertical siding from Scandinavian ash boards and white plaster. The whole is completed by a roof truss - a construction made of trusses of glued wood stained for dark - graphite colour. Horses are kept in safe, calm and warm conditions - the wings of the stable are moved away from the main building in which people will arrive. Both stables have been provided with preparation sites and washers for horses with hot and cold water and a solarium. In the west wing there is a forge, and there are also all veterinary rooms, such as a medicine warehouse, a masterwork and an isolation room. In addition, two boxes are for mares with foals (twice as big as regular boxes). In the eastern wing there is a feed storage and saddling facilities.
For the guests arriving to the complex, a waiting room has been designed, as well as facilities for organizing the competition - bathrooms, changing rooms and showers for players, including a bathroom adapted to the needs of disabled people, a waiting room, a conference and education room and a room for instructors. These rooms are located in the central wing in the immediate vicinity of the heavily covered riding arena with stands. The riding hall is illuminated with natural daylight flowing from skylights, providing comfortable conditions regardless of the weather. The upper court houses administrative facilities for the competition - a room for judges, a profession office with social facilities and a bathroom. An additional bedroom with a separate bathroom was located for the convenience of judges arriving from far, and an observation room was created for guests who are not amused by cheering on the stands. On the last floor there is a large party hall with a beautiful view of the riding hall and the southern part of the complex. The centre is monitored and controlled by security staff round the clock.
The three-generation house was created for the owners of the stable, who should live nearby to be able to look after the complex. It is characterized by unusual functionality and convenience - a universal form on a rectangular plan allows for clean division of zones and ensures everyday comfort of use for the residents. The house separates the workers' zones - dirty (dirty kitchen and bathroom, laundry room with drying room, boiler room, pantry and warehouses) from day-to-day (living room with dining room and kitchen, office and library). On the ground floor there was also a special annex for grandparents who should stay in calm and comfortable conditions ensuring comfort and safety.
On the first floor there was a night zone - bedrooms and bathrooms. The house also has a two-car garage. For the convenience of the household, the house was connected to the equestrian centre through the winter garden.
Full project documentation can be shown in private message