Extension project for the National Museum in Szczecin

The concept for the expansion of the National Museum in Szczecin was prepared by Aleksandra Jackowska, Natalia Siedlecka, Mateusz Nisiewicz and Bartek Litwinko from the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin. Their bold vision is to enlarge the building with a modern section.

Editor Mateusz Markowski wrote about the history of the National Museum building in Szczecin HERE.

The project was prepared under the supervision of Dr Eng. arch. Miłosz Raczyński. The concept assumes the creation of a new building, which will be a functional extension of the present edifice of the National Museum and seat of the Contemporary Theatre from 1908-1913. This is a representative place for Szczecin on Wały Chrobrego. From the east, there is a wide panorama of the Oder River and Grodzka Island and Kępe Parnicka. From the west, the building is in close proximity to Adam Mickiewicz Square. The western façade of the current museum building is completely obscured by a low pavilion extension, which is in poor technical condition and disturbs the perception of the museum building.

The students propose several measures: removing the existing pavilion building, preserving the existing trees that are at the ‘heart’ of the project, exposing the Museum’s crowning tower, creating an additional circulation route and separating the new building from the current one.

After thorough analysis of the existing Museum building and its characteristic façade, we managed to create a concept in the spirit of contemporary architecture while preserving the character of the entire establishment,” describe the authors of the project.

National Museum. Source: Dorota Kowalik, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The new building consists of two main volumes connected to each other by glass bridges. The dynamism of the new volume was achieved by moving the individual volumes forming the spaces of the exhibition halls. In order to preserve the existing trees in the courtyard, the new building has a clear separation between the main museum and administrative functions. The numerous reinterpreted reliefs on the façade of the new building are a reference to the representative eastern façade of the National Museum.

The entrance and the entire western façade of the new building are framed in a glass “skin”, giving lightness to the entire form.

design: Aleksandra Jackowska, Natalia Siedlecka, Mateusz Nisiewicz, Bartek Litwinko

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