Archmondo's proposal develops a four-story building with smooth, white facades. Each floor maintains the same rhythm and proportion as the rest, creating a visual harmony complemented by a white pergola at the top, which adds lightness. The building's orthogonality and lack of ornamentation also contribute to its subtlety. The balconies are discreetly separated to provide privacy, although from the outside they appear as a continuous horizontal line.
The interior houses a total of 26 apartments with large windows that allow a connection with nature from within. Archmondo designed a functional building that not only featured private apartments but also play areas for children and wellness and relaxation areas for adults. This allowed it to accommodate people of different generations.
Promenada by Archmondo. Photography by Jakub Certowicz.
Description of project by Archmondo
Promenada: Geometric Grace on the Baltic Shore
On Poland's bustling coast, where architectural pandemonium typically reigns supreme, a quietly revolutionary project has emerged. Promenada, designed by Piotr Kowalczyk of Archmondo, stands as compelling evidence that Polish seaside architecture is ready to shed its chaotic skin and embrace its much quieter and more elegant voice.
The setting could hardly be more conspicuous. Wladyslawowo's Aleja Gwiazd Sportu serves as the town's popular boardwalk, channeling streams of holidaymakers toward the Baltic waters throughout the summer months. Yet step back from this human torrent, just five minutes from the beach, and the frenetic energy dissipates. Here, amidst the comparative calm, Promenada has taken root – a quiet manifesto for what Polish coastal architecture might become.
Quiet Precision
The brief for this intimate aparthotel demanded something paradoxical: a building that would command attention whilst refusing to shout, that would provide sanctuary from the visual cacophony endemic to Poland's coastal developments. Kowalczyk's response was to strip away everything superfluous, crafting a composition of almost monastic restraint.
The four-story structure presents itself as a study in horizontal emphasis, its white facades bound together by the rhythmic cadence of carefully proportioned elements. A metal pergola crowns the composition, designed to compress the building's apparent mass. The balconies – discretely separated yet unified through continuous glass screening – demonstrate particular ingenuity, creating privacy without sacrificing visual coherence.
Vertical elements of the composition provide counterpoint to the prevailing horizontality. These linear motifs resurface in the cladding panels, interior partitions, balustrades, and timber detailing, establishing a visual grammar that governs every aspect of the design. What emerges is precise and disciplined architecture softened by quiet subtlety.
Function Follows Philosophy
Yet for all its formal sophistication, Promenada succeeds primarily as a machine for living. Within its 2,100 square meters, twenty-six apartments give families a break from the hectic resort life. Interiors, also crafted by Archmondo, extend the building's ethos of calm rationality. Natural light floods pale surfaces, while the geometric vocabulary established externally threads through every room.
The building accommodates multiple generations with equal consideration: dedicated play area ensures children's safety and stimulation, whilst adults retreat to a dedicated space for relaxation and renewal.
Contextual Sensitivity
Architecture, however, cannot exist in isolation, and Promenada's true achievement lies in its relationship with its surroundings. The landscape strategy takes its cues from the coastal environment itself, deploying indigenous grasses and weathered timber native to this windswept coast. Rather than exploiting its proximity to the sea, the building defers to it, creating harmony where discord might have prevailed.
The project's reception amongst locals and visitors alike suggests something significant: that thoughtful architecture, regardless of scale or function, retains the power to move and inspire. In an age when coastal development too often prioritizes profit over poetry, Promenada offers hope that another way remains possible.
