designers' task force
The Polish History Museum may be conceived as an essential reference point for creating the image of the entire country. The light, airy roof over the large space beside the Museum will emphasise the openness, inclusiveness and coexistence of traditions, present in the image of Poland that the Museum is to project. The roof is a metaphor of the “one sky”, which was for centuries shared by one and all the citizens of the multi-cultural Republic, and at the same time it represents a protective vault, shielding and sheltering the modern-day agora – a space for meetings, conversations and discussions over Poland’s turbulent history.
The Museum is a new institution, and one of crucial importance, the design of which requires action on a scale consistent with its rank. At the same time, it is essential to respect its neighbouring Zamek Ujazdowski – the castle itself and its spatial environment, the King Stanislaus Axis. Action on the scale of a multi-spatial design offers a chance to redesign the structural perception of this particular area of Warsaw. Park Europa, a new space with clearly delineated boundaries and a strong aesthetic identity, has been isolated at the boundary area of two distinct zones: of embassies and of historic gardens. This has been possible due to the new compositional element: Nowa Agrykola, a new descent route towards the area below the Embankment and a thoroughfare specially dedicated to the Museum. This arrangement is complementary to the Axis and does not disrupt spatial hierarchies, yet it remains autonomous.
The Museum Building:
The core concepts of the spatial design are to reduce the overground segment of the building to the pavilion under the roof, which will house the visitor service area, seminar area and offices, and to locate the exhibition areas and the infrastructure in the underground segment of the building.
Exhibition areas:
According to the design, the exhibition areas will be located in the underground segment of the building, with one façade optionally opening towards the embankment.
The maximum spatial elasticity permitting unrestricted arrangement of exhibition space is as follows: span 25m, net height 8m + 1m below the floor and 2m above the ceiling, the spaces between the trusses are available for the installation of ducts.
The permanent exhibition space is located around the central hall. Apart from the main entrance and main exit, discreet ingress/egress routes are provided in various crucial points of the exhibition space.
It is possible to connect the temporary and the permanent exhibition halls into a contiguous exhibition space.
The temporary exhibition halls are located opposite the main stairs, and are possible to connect into a single space. Additionally, one wall in both those exhibition halls is glazed; it can be opened to provide connection with the “Sculpture Garden”. This garden, located on the terrace below the edge of the embankment, is separated from the public space.
One of the temporary exhibition halls is directly adjacent to the storage rooms, which permits to re-organise exhibitions without interruption to the everyday functioning of the museum.
Centrala - grupa projektowa
arch. Krzysztof Banaszewski
arch. Małgorzata Kuciewicz
arch. kraj. Robert Nowicki
mentor:
arch. Krzysztof Jaraczewski
co-operation:
Zygmunt Fit
Tomasz Gancarczyk
Borys Lewandowski
Krzysztof Syruć
