NATURE MIND COMPLEX - Hotel in Gliwice

Silesian University of Technology, (Politechnika Śląska), Faculty of Architecture, Gliwice

Project idea

City life is often associated with constant hustle, pollution, and noise. In modern life, moments of relaxation, tranquility, and connection with nature are often missing. This inspired the creation of the Nature Mind Complex, a wellness complex located in Gliwice. Nature Mind Complex is a suite of facilities that offer services related to health and relaxation, such as yoga and Pilates studios, offices for psychotherapy, sound therapy, physiotherapy, and a spa. At the heart of the complex, there is a hotel. Special attention was given to the surrounding greenery during the complex's design phase. Here, architecture integrates with nature to have a soothing effect on the human mind, creating an environment conducive to relaxation. The hotel's design was directly inspired by the shape of a neuron. This neuron motif is echoed throughout the facade and the building's traffic system. The building's color scheme, featuring shades of gray, white, blue, and green, is perceived by the human brain as natural and soothing. The Nature Mind Complex is a place where you can take care of your health, relax, and connect with nature. It creates a space where time seems to run slower, a luxury so necessary in our busy lives.

Project description

The interior of the building is designed to evoke the feeling of a walk in the woods. The green atrium at the heart of the building is filled with growing trees, and the materials used throughout are glass, wood, micro cement, and bright fabrics.

On the ground floor, guests will find an entrance area with a reception connected to the lobby, a business and conference area, a café, a restaurant, and a relaxation area with a swimming pool, saunas, and a spa. The first floor houses a gym with a fitness room, a co-working area, hotel rooms for 2 or 3 people, and suites. The second and third floors contain hotel rooms including suites, a rehabilitation room, and a reading room.

Technical information

The hotel building was designed with a prefabricated frame structure
as a non-basement building with a non-ventilated flat roof. It is a four-story building. The shape of the building is irregular, with a curvilinear outline with an internal atrium. The construction system is a mixed wall and column construction, and the stiffness of the building is provided by a system of walls and ceilings based on beams and columns. Most of the structural elements are made of reinforced concrete with the exception of load-bearing walls made of cellular concrete.
The foundation of the building is in the form of a reinforced concrete foundation slab.
On the first floor, the exterior walls are prefabricated glass wall, which is installed in front of the soffit. The curved glass panels are supported by thin polished aluminum columns, and the width of one glass module is 150 cm. The designed building uses prefabricated columns. On the first floor, a reinforced concrete (Holedeck) grid ceiling with a span of 12 m was used, which is made of 80 x 80 cm modules. It allows installations to be carried out and hidden when the installation risers do not overlap. With this solution, it is possible to pull and route pipes around the nearest structural column, which has been encased, soundproofed, and covered with a veneer panel on the outside.
The ceilings used on the upper floors are slab-reinforced concrete.
The representative staircase located in the atrium is irregular and consists of steel steps, tendons, and a truss roof.
The facade is made of prefabricated curved aluminum profiles, forming an irregularly shaped grid, with panels of milky glass or solid aluminum inserted into the profiles

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