The beauty of the historic gymnasium was captured by Aleksander Małachowski, a photographer known as Hashtagalek, who reminded us that sports facilities that are almost a hundred years old have a unique style that is often lacking in modern facilities. The gymnasium of a primary school in Szczecin can boldly claim to be one of the most beautiful in Poland.
In 1896-1897, in the quarter of Aleja Piastów – Bolesława Śmiałego – Jagiellońska – Ściegiennego streets, a representative building was erected for the Ernst Moritz Arndt Secondary School for Boys. The author of the project was the building councillor Wilhelm Meyer, and the implementation was supervised by the councillor Berg. The neo-Gothic building, topped with stepped gables, already housed a gymnasium and assembly hall. The school opened on 8 October 1897, with 581 boys in 13 departments taught by 15 teachers in the first year.
The dynamic development was interrupted by the Second World War – the roof and towers of the building were destroyed. The reconstruction after 1945 gave it a simplified form, with a lowered roof and without the former gables.
on 15 January 1947, Primary School No. 18 of the Society of Friends of Children was opened in the building. In the following decades, it housed, among others, Primary School No. 8 and the Correspondence Secondary School named after the National Education Commission. In 1999-2007, Middle School No. 4 operated here, and today the Bolesław Chrobry Primary School No. 1 operates in the building. It was the school authorities that decided to renovate the gymnasium.
I have never seen such a phenomenal gymnasium, and the fact that it has been so meticulously renovated makes me even more proud. When I saw, in addition, that the shape of the windows gave a ball-shaped shadow effect, I thought, this is some kind of cosmos! Leaving the gymnasium, I had this thought: we often admire sports fields in the world and their integration into architecture, while we have gems in our country,” Aleksander Małachowski writes in a post on his Instagram.
The project to renovate the space was prepared by architects from the BiA STUDIO studio. The vaulted ceiling and rosettes were thoroughly renovated. Their circular shape makes the light falling into the interior have a ball shape.
The modernisation of this unique interior was a huge challenge and a source of satisfaction for us at the same time. We wanted to preserve the spirit of the historic architecture from the late 19th century, while giving it new life – functional, safe and inspiring for the students. It is a project that shows that public architecture can also be beautiful, thoughtful and respectful of the history of a place, ” write the architects from BiA STUDIO on their Instagram profile.
You can find more of Aleksander Malachowski’s extraordinary photos on his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hashtagalek.
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