a striking facade of protruding balconies make up the exterior of this residential building in poland, which has been designed by local architecture firm KWK promes. located in the center of katowice ? once a dynamically developing industrial city ? UNIKATO is a low budget building, which re-establishes life in what is now a depopulating downtown dominated with car traffic.

images courtesy of KWK promes
photos by juliusz sokolowski
 
 
the balconies are made in monolithic construction, their steel barriers clad with cement panels and covered with plaster. they are arranged in the same direction on all façades, along with position shifted in relation to the irregular outline of the building. they offer extra storage and outdoor space for each small apartment.
 
 
the apartment block is inspired by the city?s pre-war, smog polluted modernist architecture with which it establishes a dialogue: ?modernist buildings of katowice, once bright, for many years exposed to the smog, gradually got dirty and became almost black,? KWK promes explains.

 
 
?their white windows always contrast with the black of the façade. this observation has become an inspiration for the project. from the neighboring building, we took a characteristic motif of the balcony in relation to the window. full balustrade covers the exit, thanks to which all the windows appear square..?

 
 
another reference to the surroundings is the plinth motif taken from the neighbouring buildings, which stretc...