OFF Miasto brings a new energy

Gdańsk is an icon of multiculturalism – it is an important part of the history of a city that evokes very specific connotations. The Old Town with its emblematic Long Market square, characteristic tenement houses and the towering St. Mary’s Basilica, the Shipyard, the Crane... But to what extent is it a contained system, or even a completed one? OFF Miasto is joining this discussion – and making the above into a rhetorical question.

The Lower Town rises up

OFF Miasto is first and foremost an impressive venture to create a new district in a challenging location – near Granary Island and the Żabi Kruk marina. It will be built according to the global trend of inclusivity. It will incorporate, among other things, a water square, boulevards with rhythmically designed greenery and a pocket park. During the day, it will be a youthful part of the big city, while at dusk the gently setting sun will create a tranquil mood.

For free spirits:

Atmosphere cannot be planned, let alone built. However, it is possible to create a space with the power to attract people with positive energy. That’s why there will be niche venues, street food spots, coffee roasters, art studios and art galleries – everything that creative people look for.

A new creative quarter:

OFF Miasto is being developed in a historic part of Gdańsk, yet somewhat OFF the beaten track – away from the most popular tourist routes. It is a concept that combines the artistic colour of the Lower Town with its nostalgic, green surroundings. A place beyond the noise of the metropolis, whose every detail will be imbued with the essence of OFF – from its name, to its location, to its architectural character.

OFF Miasto incorporates architectural trends

OFF Miasto is an ambitious, long-term and responsible project. After all, it will be part of a city with a strong character, in the context of which it must find its place and against which it must assert its autonomy. This is why it is being conceived at the BJK studio – one of the most awarded architecture practices in the Tricity.

Cohesion in diversity:

OFF Miasto will have a multi-faceted character. Tomasz Janiszewski – the co-founder and artistic director of BJK, as well as the creator of the OFF concept – emphasises that from the very beginning, from the first intuition and the first stroke of the pencil, his team worked to create somewhere that would join the metropolis and not just be a residential and commercial complex. This has ensured that each section of OFF Miasto will present a variety of architecture and be multi-dimensional and multi-material – you will notice different bricks, proportions and even window finishes. At the same time, thanks to the stable relationships of its raw materials and colours, it will be a neighbourhood with a coherent expression and a defined visual language

A higher level of stepped architecture:

The main idea behind OFF Miasto was to open it up as much as possible to Gdańsk. The clustering of the apartments and commercial spaces by a green belt with a water square is an expression of the trend of integrating water into the city. This is how the idea of cascading buildings was conceived, reaching out through boulevards to the banks of the Old Motława canal. The stepped structure, together with the variety of materials, will give OFF Miasto a cosmopolitan dynamic, while the sunny terraces on the first level will offer a panoramic view of the ramparts of the Lower Town.

Interiors rich in history:

Already in the lobby, residents will experience the ever-present inspirations from our more than 1,000-year-old city – inspirations that are far from obvious. Here, raw concrete will be juxtaposed with copper details, the ceiling will be covered with a tinted mirror, and materials such as copper, grey stone, etched sheet metal and coloured glass will create a palette of shades reminiscent of vintage interiors. The large surfaces of the materials will be broken up with sophisticated details – glazed tiles, neon signs and stylish lamps whose deep colours will allude to the old tiled ovens so typical of Gdańsk. “Our main assumption in designing the communal areas was to create interiors with an urban character, coherent with the original architecture and surroundings, enriching them with elements and finishes that we can touch, feel and experience in many different ways,” say the designers Jakub Piórkowski and Hanna Bialic of PB Studio and Maciej Ryniewicz and Rafał Kaletowski of Studio Akurat.

OFF Miasto brings more tranquillity and greenery.

It makes us more optimistic and gives everything around us a new, more serene dimension. Light – it was at the centre of the thoughts of the team of architects from the BJK studio, whose greatest dream is to create a district filled with brightness. Each apartment is designed to provide the best possible light and view of the surroundings. The apartments will offer spacious loggias or balconies equipped with movable panes to protect against the wind. Windows will be of above-standard size and the distance between buildings will be maximised. In addition, the varying heights of the buildings will allow the apartments to be filled with natural light, even those on the first residential level, where patios and private gardens will be located.

Comfort and functionality ON:

OFF Miasto is also about functional spaces created for those who appreciate contact with refined design and seldom-seen materials. Residents will benefit from an exclusive wellness area, a professionally equipped gym and a club space that, thanks to dark wood, natural stones and a colour scheme in shades of bottle green and burgundy, will remain cosy. The club café, with its luxurious, spacious sofas, custom-designed tables and high-end audio equipment, will be a place for daily work, weekend parties, evening film screenings and a game of billiards... at any spare moment.

Your own green city centre:

Surrounded by lush yet well-kept plants, OFF Miasto will make the most of the landscape and recreational potential of the area around Old Motława. The people of Gdańsk will be welcomed by an amphitheatre-like boulevard with wooden furniture immersed in rich greenery. However, OFF Miasto will leave something special for its residents, something almost unheard of in urban agglomerations – open green spaces full of the colours and scents of nature. Elevated to the level of the first floor, the courtyards will be separated from public passages by cascading plantings of evergreen hedges, providing intimacy in the gardens and leisure space.

Every shade of green:

Landscape designer Dorota Rudawa of RS Architektura Krajobrazu follows an architectural idea that is dominated by metropolitan diversity. The plants in the district’s space will therefore be species with rich flowering, different tones and hues, striking autumn foliage and unique bark, and there will also be evergreen plants. Nature will not only surround OFF Miasto, but also fill it. And it will be like everything here – multilayered and therefore so inspiring.