Orco Property Group has chosen White arkitekter AB and RKW Poland to complement one another in designing Orco's first investment in Szczecin to be built on a 7.3ha parcel.
White, a leading Scandinavian design office with extensive experience in sustainable design, will be responsible for the sustainable concept design and subsequent supervision during the design development and construction process. RKW Poland will be responsible for preparing the building permit application and detailed design, and in addition, the author's supervision on site.
"Both design companies have shown a deep understanding of our expectations, as demonstrated in their design concept. We are confident that together we will be able to accomplish the challenging task of creating the first truly sustainable housing estate in Poland which will become an exceptional and comfortable home for its future residents," says Douglas Noble, Director of Warsaw, Orco Property Group.
The housing estate will be a breakthrough investment in Poland as it will be sustainable both in terms of the end product, and the way it will be constructed. This means the investment will include beautifully landscaped green areas and recreational sites, well integrated into the surroundings and without any architectural barriers. The buildings will be characterized by high energy efficiency due to, among others, the use of the solar energy. The energy efficient solutions applied in the housing estate will also restrict the emission of CO2, making it an environmentally-friendly investment. Other sustainable solutions will include rain water utilization for domestic appliances, and selection of building materials which will not be harmful to the natural environment. The construction process itself will be conducted according to the principles of sustainable construction, with attention paid to waste management, prefabrication, standardization, and optimization of energy consumption during implementation of the works.
Orco Property Group will construct approximately 770 high quality housing units in a development comprising 3- and 4-story buildings. For the convenience of the future residents of the estate, parking as well as retail and service outlets have been designed within the grounds of the development.
The investment will be located in the northern part of Szczecin, 5 km from the city center at Szosa Polska Street. The first, out of the planned four construction phases, will begin in spring of 2008 with the completion planned for 2009. The estimated cost of the investment is over €60 million.
Source: Orco
