Visitors to Paprocany Lake hang out in nets suspended over the water
Visitors to Paprocany Lake near the Polish city of Tychy are finding time to relax by lying in specially-created nets suspended over the water.
Architecture studio RS+ incorporated the nets into their €85,000 (US$96,600, £62,600) design for a wooden walkway that extends 400m along the bank of the lake, occasionally meandering into the water itself. In the evenings, the promenade is illuminated by energy-saving LED lights.
The company were tasked last year by Tychy City Council with creating a new recreational space for the city’s inhabitants on land that had previously only been used by local fishermen.
Robert Skitek, lead designer at RS+, told CLAD: "We saw a great playground with nets for children to climb on and thought that such nets would be great for resting. They're like hammocks, but better because they're not just for one person. Young people can lie on the net next to older people who are sitting on the benches just above. They all use this space together at the same time.
"Paprocany Lake is loved by citizens. Now they have a new space directly on the water and they like to use it at any time. It's a really good working public space."
In addition to the eye-catching walkway and net hammocks - which the studio said “offers a different perception of space from various spots of the promenade” - the project also included an outdoor gym and a man-made beach.
RS+ used mainly natural materials in the build, to emphasise the surrounding environment, so benches and railings were made from wood.
Water permeable surfaces were specified in the gym and bike parking areas. Steel beams founded on reinforced concrete piles were hammered into the lake bottom in the sections that extend over the water.
The studio are now developing a concept design for a marina, to be situated just behind the walkway.