Gdynia and sailing are one.
Let’s recall the current proposal from the City – take a look here.
Let’s also see what Ghelamco and the Polish Yachting Association plan to build on the northern side (where the yacht clubs used to be until recently).
The issue with the above approaches lies in the wrong priorities of the designers, the investor, and the city itself. It’s as if they’ve forgotten where they are and who they’re designing for. For developers? For future apartment buyers and hotel guests? No.
We need to change our mindset — return to the roots, to the very genesis of Gdynia: a city born from the sea and dreams.
An Olympic Sailing Center worthy of the name — not one dictated by wealthy developers.
Design by Michał Szymankiewicz.
Sailing must come first, because Gdynia and sailing are one. This is the right approach, as it highlights the unique character of the area surrounding the General Mariusz Zaruski Yachting Basin. This basin should ultimately be expanded all the way to the end of the Southern Pier. Even the name of the western quay — Młodych Żeglarzy (“Young Sailors”) — carries an obligation.
A facility that aims to meet the standards of an Olympic Sailing Center must ensure quick access for athletes to ground-floor hangars and to locker rooms and changing areas. Here, examples such as the Aarhus International Sailing Center or the Olympic Centre Kiel-Schilksee set the right standard. Administrative offices, classrooms, gyms, etc., should be located above the hangar or on the side of the building. These are secondary elements of such facilities.
Athletes already have a long way to haul their boats to the building, and in the current design, they would have to drag them even farther, to the back. That’s simply impractical and exhausting for sailors — especially after a hard training session (unless the idea was to make sure they build muscle!).
Additionally, maneuvering vehicles with trailers and boats becomes unnecessarily difficult. The open area in front of the building allows for flexible movement, while side entrances only make maneuvering harder — especially when those areas are blocked by sailors trying to access or exit the hangar. Of course, additional side entrances should exist, but they shouldn’t serve as the main access points.
Another point: the building’s frontage should be wider, allowing for more hangar gates.
At present, widening the building may be difficult due to poor zoning plan (MPZP) design, which would require amendments — particularly in the front section — to allow for an L-shaped structure.
The current green space next to the building is too large. A marina is not a park — it’s a sailing area, with emphasis on the word “sailing.” Historically, this space was never meant to be a park (only an open yard — which in an alternative approach can indeed exist). Of course, grassy areas should be designed to allow sailors to lay out sails for drying, minor repairs, or folding. In the case of IQ Foil class regattas, the space should accommodate boards. This, too, should be located at the front, close to the water — not as far away as possible. Though, admittedly, this is the least of the project’s problems.
Naturally, the hangar doors should be large enough to allow classes such as 470 or 49er to roll in with full rigging — as is the case in Aarhus.
Another important element is the construction of a wide slipway directly in front of the building, though that falls outside the building design itself.
Many will say there’s no time for changes — that the World Cup is coming in two years, and so on. But it’s better to set up containers properly (temporarily) than to build a poor-quality sailing facility that will last for decades — paid for with public money.
Idea for Revitalizing the Southern Pier
The concept of the Gdynia Eye — a solution inspired by the London Eye — a permanent, solid observation wheel and tourist attraction, heated and accessible all year round.
