Modern, comfortable living units, unlimited access to specially arranged spaces for individual and group learning, a game and entertainment centre, a cinema room, and a kitchen for group cooking. This is a brief description of the Livinn Kraków student house at ul. Romanowicza 4 in Kraków, now under way as part of the revitalization and modernization of the former Telpod factory building.
With a student community of almost 1.5 million people, Poland is ranked sixth among all EU member states, which is a high position. Moreover, the number of foreign students who are interested in studying at Polish universities is constantly rising – currently there are more than 73,000 of them, and the group is growing dynamically by about 20 percent every year. One of the most important academic centres in Poland and at the same time one of the biggest is Kraków with almost 147,000 students, of which nearly 8,000 are foreign students.
Jakub Bartos, Head of Residential at Golub GetHouse, said: “Polish universities are very popular not only with domestic students, but also with young people from other countries. We have a diverse educational offer, also in English, very much welcome by students from the East, for example from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, but also from Scandinavia, Spain or the USA. Students appreciate the level of education, extensive range of courses and attractiveness of Polish academic centres. All these factors contribute to the constantly growing demand for modern space in student residence halls. This aspect is much more difficult to handle in Poland. University student houses guarantee accommodation for only 10 percent of all students, and their standard is often low. In preparing our investment, we want to meet the expectations of people who, among others, are forced to look for housing on the secondary market. Our offer is addressed to both visiting students as well as those already living in Kraków. We are also open to cooperation with universities in Kraków. At Livinn Kraków, we will offer solutions that are unprecedented on the Polish market. This student house will be like no other before it.”
Livinn Kraków is under construction as part of a renovation of the former Telpod factory building at ul. Romanowicza 4 in Kraków. The project is being carried out by Golub GetHouse in cooperation with the US-based CA Ventures International – a company with huge experience in student housing construction in North and South America.
Modern and comfortable
Livinn Kraków will offer 713 beds available in different space configurations of 1 to 4 rooms. Each of the 290 residential units will come with a living room and study space, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. The housing units will be fully furnished, with internet access. Thanks to the architectural solutions used, the spaces inside the building will reach up to 3.90 m in height and maintain the industrial character with several accents referring to the previous function of the building.
Livinn Kraków will offer students a very wide range of amenities. They will have unlimited access to specially arranged spaces for individual and group learning, a game and entertainment centre, a cinema room, and a kitchen for group cooking. The ground floor will house generally accessible areas and outside terrace for the students’ visitors.
The building will include a modern gym, a bike storage room, and a laundry room for the exclusive use of Livinn Kraków residents. The building will also have an internal garden with relax zone, where a unique climate will be create by a high, natural trees.
Great emphasis was placed on the safety of residents. The entire building will be monitored 24/7 by reception, security staff and CCTV television.
Apart from amenities designed exclusively for students, Livinn Kraków will also house i.a. a shop, a drugstore, a restaurant and a café on the ground floor. Thanks to its convenient location, the student house will be well connected with the most important Kraków colleges.
It is also located in close vicinity to the Old Town and the Kazimierz district, which will, in turn, offer access to the city’s cultural facilities and services, such as museums, art galleries, clubs, restaurants and the Vistula River boulevards.
The design of the Telpod renovation was provided by a renowned Krakow-based architecture studio IMB Asymetria, and the general contractor is UNIBEP S.A. The completion of construction works has been planned for summer 2019, and the facility will be ready for the first students at the start of the academic year of 2019/2020.
Multiple activities to develop students’ creativity will be carried out at Livinn Kraków. The foretaste is the cooperation with the Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Kraków University. The architecture contest “Dormitorium – student residential unit”, addressed to students of architecture and interior design at the Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts of Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Kraków University, has entered its second stage. In the first one, students designed a residential unit for a handicapped person. Winners are Tomasz Jałocha from Poland, Yevheniia Krepsheva from Ukraine and Maria Barranco Fernandez from Spain. This time, the task is to design a student dream room to accommodate one or four. Students have been given absolute freedom of design – any and all solutions are possible, with the only restriction being the room size. Contest winners will be announced in January 2019.
