MSA Stage 4 School of Architecture

Marta Łuniewska

During stage 4, I worked on two projects: a housing project called Easy Living and an urban building named The Prattle Playhouse. My primary goal this year was to focus on the Pollokshields community, creating family- and area-oriented buildings that would make life easier and the neighbourhood more pleasant. I aimed to bring essential amenities closer to the area and make it more enjoyable.

If you wish to see more work, please contact me.

Contact
M.Luniewska1@student.gsa.ac.uk
@mlu_designs
Projects
Easy Living
The Prattle Playhouse

The Prattle Playhouse

This project aims to establish a vibrant space within the Pollokshields community, fostering engagement, celebrating intricate diversity and promoting educational experiences. Specifically, it involves the creation of a puppet theatre designed for children. The puppet theatre project’s scope involves active engagement within the cultural realm of the performing arts. Specifically, it aims to establish a culturally rooted puppet theatre that draws inspiration from Pakistani, Indian, and Scottish backgrounds, as the main residents in the neighbourhood belong to those groups.

The design is shaped by light and shadow, coming through glass panels of the facade, exploring how bright and dark spaces interact to form a distinctive environment. The space is partitioned into distinct areas through an open circulation plan and a void within the building. This comprehensive design aims to seamlessly integrate various elements while offering engaging spaces for performance, creation, and education in performing arts. The objectives of the design are to focus on movement, playfulness, and the other world. Movement is achieved through a façade that aims to show people moving around during the day and shadows of people in the evening. Since the primary users of the building are children and families, most operating hours are scheduled during the daytime.

The glulam curtain wall serves as a container for the buildingâs ongoing activity, reminiscent of a children’s puppet theatre box. Playfulness is achieved through open space, accessible to all, allowing for various activities and dynamic space organisation supported by vivid colours.

The other world is a concept of the whole design which aims to separate the urban realm from the fantasy of the puppet theatre realm. This is symbolised by a 12-meter-tall puppet positioned above the entrance, prompting viewers to question who is controlling whom.

WHO IS THE PUPPET NOW?

Public to Private

Program Drivers

Location Diagram

Ground Level in Context

Perspective Section A1

Section A2

Section A3

Front (Top) and Back (Bottom) Elevations

Puppet Workshop

Open Floors

View Up

Corner View

Structure

Easy Living

The “Easy Living” Urban Housing Project offers four flat types according to residents’ family size. The focus is on families, women, and kids; however, the project also provides one-bedroom units for single individuals. Flats come in different sizes and offer windows on both the south and north sides to maximise daylight, except for the one-bedroom accessible flat on the ground floor. The area between the retrofitted point blocks and new housing units was accommodated for the needs of its residents with various activity areas to engage more in the co-living idea and make the residential area more pleasurable. The focus is on community engagement and bringing closer amenities needed for a neighbourhood to work well.

CO-LIVING

Building Diagram

Micro to Macro Scale

Retrofit

Site Interactions

Urban Housing Plans (Ground Floor, First Floor, Second Floor, Third Floor)

Targeted Demographic

Site Activities

Terrace View

Deck Access View

Outdoor Space