MNK – National Museum Krakow  

location: Krakow
project: 2015, competition, 3rd Prize 

Cultural facilities should unite, not divide. This concept attempts to unite around a common history and collective memory, of which the National Museum in Krakow is one of the most important depositories, without whose activity “poor memory perpetuates the legends”.

The uniqueness of the museum depends not only on the uniqueness of the exhibitions but also the uniqueness of the space in which the exhibitions are presented. The balance between neutrality of environment for exhibits and its characteristic features is one of the basic problems of not only modern museums. The indissoluble connection of exhibitions, the building of the museum and the city is essential if the memory of the visit is to survive. 

The site has been divided into two main bodies: north and south. The historic (southern) one hosts all of the features associated with the Museum, such as a bar, bookstore, library, cinema room, or cloakrooms and toilets located below the entrance level. The northern part contains all groups of premises connected with the exhibitions.

Between these two bodies, a central space was located which forms a huge museum lobby illuminated from the top. This is a very important part of the site, which is responsible not only for the impressions it gives the visitors but first and foremost is the traffic hub, the starting point of the journey around the exhibition area. This lobby grants access to all exhibition halls, both permanent and temporary. 

The main hall of regular shape, great height, soft and diffused lighting is not only the starting point of all exhibition exploration routes but also a space, which is to introduce the public to an atmosphere of uniqueness. In formal terms, the hall interprets the theme of the panels repeated several times in the historical part of the building. This theme unites the old and the new part of the museum.

A single-space main hall for temporary exhibitions is completely devoid of supports, providing virtually unlimited possibilities for display.

Permanent exhibition rooms have been designed on two top floors, dividing the exhibition space into smaller modules, which due to the interrelations are arranged in a logical and uninterrupted string of exhibitions, forming a loop. The rooms located on the top floor have been illuminated with natural light through skylights, thus upholding the historical continuity of exhibition spaces of the National Museum in Krakow. 

architect:
HS99, Koszalin
project team: 
katarzyna bartel, oliwia stachowska, adam kulesza, konrad garbowski, wojciech slupczynski, arkadiusz laskowski, ewelina przeworska, tomasz czolowski, 
model: 
tomasz kudelski 
status: 
competition entry 

Building Footprint: 6123,8 m2
Net Floor Area: 27856,6 m2
Gross Floor Area: 34163,2 m2
Volume:  182503,3 m3  

Music School 

location: Rybnik
project: 2015, competition entry, 1st Prize 

The location of the new wing of the music school in Rybnik, including a concert hall, emphasises the public, open character of the entire facility. The building, being set back from the street allowed for the creation of two diverse public spaces. The first is a public square opening onto the street and city; the second is an internal, enclosed schoolyard. The main entrance is located in an arcade which forms the space between the two zones. 

The most important feature of the new building is the concert hall. A three-storey foyer separates the room from the square. Part of the foyer on the ground floor, a space visually communicated with the square, accessible from the arcade. It includes the reception area with a cloakroom and access to the lower seats of the concert hall.

The upper rows of the hall and the balconies are accessible from the first floor, which is also an exhibition gallery, also reachable from the existing school building. This part of the lobby, very much open to the lower foyer, is lit by a large window facing west. Through the window, the foyer space connects with the most characteristic building of Rybnik – the Basilica church of St. Anthony – the highest church in Upper Silesia, clearly connecting the building and its interior with Rybnik. 

The location of the stage on the ground floor makes it easy to transport instruments and cases directly to the stage. The proposed trapdoor will enable the transporting of the piano and other instruments, and arrangement components to the appropriate storage areas. All routes are designed for transporting pianos, so that these instruments may also be located in the dressing rooms of soloists.

The concert hall was designed in the shape of a traditional “shoe box”. The corresponding volume of the room (14m3 per person), together with its considerable height (13m) create the ideal conditions for symphonic music concerts. Variable acoustics are provided by mobile curtains advancing on the side walls. They provide diverse acoustic conditions and a very good hall performance for reinforced concerts, for example jazz.

The façades were designed as ventilated, where the outer façade layer is made of reinforced concrete prefabricated elements made of stained concrete. Their concave shape inversely repeats the theme of precast elements used in the interior of the concert hall.

architect: 
ANALOG / HS99
project team (competition): 
konrad garbowski, oliwia stachowska, adam kulesza,  wojciech slupczynski, jacek moczala
project team (building permit, working drawing): 
jacek moczala, konrad garbowski,
model: 
tomasz kudelski, marta furmanska, magdalena domiczuk, 
room acustic: 
Muller-BBM, Berlin  
status: 
before construction  

Building Footprint: 1508,4 m2 
Net Floor Area: 3450,7 m2
Gross Floor Area: 4654,1 m2
Volume: 34114,9 m3