The competition site, designated Z.P.5001.US.U in the Local Spatial Development Plan, is located on the northern edge of the Pogodno district, within a strip of green space along Wojska Polskiego Avenue, connecting the Arkoński Forest with Mickiewicza Street. These areas include sports and recreational facilities, allotment gardens, and public green spaces. Historically, the competition site was planned to house a stadium embedded in the natural basin of the terrain and connected to the urban layout of the Pogodno district via an access axis from Ostrawicka Street. The stadium’s construction was never completed, leaving a basin approximately 14 meters deep, defining the shape of the planned sports complex. Currently, the area serves as a publicly accessible, undeveloped green space for informal recreation for local residents. The most important function in the immediate vicinity is the Independent Clinical Hospital on Unii Lubelskiej Street. The proposed building and landscaping design is a balanced concept between the most compact possible layout and footprint of the building and a publicly accessible park and garden area intended for both facility users and patients and guests of the adjacent clinical hospital.
The landscaping concept divides the historic stadium basin (located at the site of the historic main entrance to the stadium) into two equal parts with approximately square proportions: the southern part, housing the PUM building, and the northern part, constituting a publicly accessible “garden” on a twin footprint. The elevation difference between the garden (34 meters above sea level) and the lower, usable level (40 meters above sea level) of the building was bridged by the introduction of a gentle slope with seating along the northern façade of the building. This division optimized the footprint and construction costs of the built-up area, while simultaneously maximizing the use of publicly accessible green space and biologically active areas.
The open space in the northern part of the basin constitutes a multifunctional public garden with significant adaptability for purposes such as recreation, cultural integration, cultural and social events, and so on. This part of the site could also serve as a reserve for the future development of new buildings. The garden is divided into zones: a slope with seating, a recreational clearing, a recreational park, a stage, and a water area that also serves as a retention reservoir. The garden layout is integrated with the interior layout of the building on level -1 – the main staircase connecting the lobby with the foyer of the conference area extends into a wide garden path culminating in a multifunctional space (e.g., a stage). The retention reservoir was designed with a total area of approximately 400 m², located at a natural depression in the basin. The reservoir will have a permanently wet section and a dry section, where water will be collected only during peak rainfall. The PUM building, located in the southern part of the site, is accessible via the main entrance from and to Unii Lubelskiej Street, and from the garden level via stairs leading to the conference center foyer. Additional outdoor stairs between the existing slope and the proposed building provide direct access to the public garden. An additional outdoor staircase in the northwest corner of the garden provides access for local residents, while a path descending along the eastern boundary of the plot, connecting Unii Lubelskiej Street with Jerzego Zimowskiego Street, provides access for users of all ages and people with disabilities.
The site development maximized the use of the natural topography, and in the construction of the new facility and its surroundings, particular attention was paid to optimizing the earthworks required for the investment and minimizing the scope of redevelopment of the existing parking lot serving the clinical hospital. The design is environmentally friendly, maximizing the existing potential of the site, and the resulting garden space creates a natural architectural and landscape complex.