The building of the Gdańsk Historical Heritage Center - competition entry
The theme of the competition was to develop an architectural concept for the City of Gdańsk Historical Heritage Center Building. When designing the building volume, we focused on emphasizing the urban and historical axes of the city while highlighting the variability of its fortunes. The building emerges from the ground and rises towards the Old Town and the Gdańsk Bay with cascading green terraces, opening up to a panoramic view of the historic part of the city. The scenic openings from within the building, shaped by recessed, expansive glazing, are designed to illuminate the internal spaces while simultaneously emphasizing the main viewing directions towards framed architectural elements of the city.
The path is a stroll along the building's facade, accentuating and indicating the main axes of the urban area, with panoramic views increasing with each step at the corners of the building. The method of organizing the surroundings, due to the scale of the object and the size of the plot, was practically subordinated to its mass and the layout resulting from its functions. On the side where the main entrance is located in the southern facade, we proposed creating an open public square integrated with materials, details, and elements of small architecture, with the management of the square between the museum building and the "Forum Raduni." Our small intervention aims to highlight and reveal the flowing stream below through glazed and night-illuminated transparent glass panels in the square's flooring
The inner courtyard in front of the main entrance to the building has been designed as an open space with a diverse flooring material. We have designed this space as a multifunctional mini-forum that can operate during various occasions. From seasonal and local events such as a garden in front of the museum cafe or a meeting place for open exhibitions to more regional events such as concerts, performances, or shows. An additional feature of the development is a cascading terrace, acting as a green usable carpet. Apart from serving as a walkway for the rooftop viewing terrace, it can also function as a recreational space, a place for relaxation, and seating for various urban activities taking place in the inner courtyard or city square. We offer visitors the opportunity to enter via the fifth elevation of the green roof and discover with each step an increasingly wider panorama of the city, culminating at the viewing terrace
We designed the interior of the building to achieve clarity of function while simultaneously establishing a visual connection with the city through fundamental openings directed in strictly defined directions. Upon entering the main hall, which serves as a pivotal spatial and communicative element of the facility, we guide visitors with light, form, and material towards the expanding ramp. They embark on a journey along an educational path running between the building's wall and the model room. With each step, thanks to multimedia and permanent display cases placed in the ramp walls, visitors learn about the history of the city's events.