Re-use of historic wooden verandas

Sopot is the best-known seaside resort in Poland. The city is unique with regard not only to its location and natural values, but also its interesting architecture, which dates back to the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Wooden verandas are one of the characteristic features of Sopot architecture. Their origin is associated with the Swiss style, which was fashionable at the turn of the 20th century and quite common in numerous European resorts of the day. Verandas were used as summer parlours, where the guests could eat their meals and protect themselves from the caprices of summer weather. After World War II the majority of private lodging houses, tenement houses and residences became municipal property. During the following decades the technical condition of the houses, with no owners to ensure their proper maintenance, steadily deteriorated. This was the situation until the beginning of the 1990s, when Poland regained its sovereignty and became a fully democratic country. Revitalisation activities aimed at revival of the former splendour and cultural value of historic houses in Sopot were launched. This paper defines the basic types of historic verandas and their characteristic features, as well as the ways in which they were placed on the façades, depending on the form of the building. The main part of the article describes the possibilities of modernizing verandas and adjusting them to user requirements currently applied to living areas. It also refers to the issues of construction, thermal protection, fire protection and energy saving in the context of sustainable development