The SARP in Poznań has announced the results of the competition for the design of the new building of the Academy of Music in Poznań. The winning proposal was made by the WXCA studio. Today we are publishing the project that won second place, a concept by the PL.ARCHITEKCI studio.
The project which won first place can be viewed HERE.
SARP Poznan announced the results of the competition for the design of the new building of the Academy of Music in Poznan. The winner was the design by the WXCA studio. Today we are publishing the project that won second place, a concept by the PL.ARCHITEKCI studio.
The concept by the PL.ARCHITEKCI team was close to winning. The Competition Jury appreciated the project for: a skilful insertion into a complicated urban context by means of a decisive architectural gesture; the correct zoning of functions that are problematic in terms of acoustics; and an interesting proposal for finishing the theatre and auditorium with acoustically transparent panels, referring to the building’s façade.
The authors of the concept are based in Poznań. They are familiar with the place where the new Music Academy building is to be constructed. In their concept, the building has been embedded in tradition in a modern way. It is a contemporary object, but not “trendy”, restrained, orderly and subdued.
The starting point of the design concept was the task of accommodating a rich functional programme while at the same time being convinced that the existing urban fabric should not accommodate a monumental, monolithic building that would fill the proposed building line to the brim. The main architectural objective of the project was therefore to appropriately fit the size of the development into the existing buildings of the district. During the analysis of the urban context, it was noted that the buildings in the immediate vicinity can be described by three volume sizes, contained within the dimensions of 13 x 24 metres. It was decided to exploit this proportion by designing a building consisting of modules that corresponded to the above-mentioned relationship.
The fragmentation of the volume resulting from the building line area allowed for the creation of visually light architecture, matching its dimensions to the human scale. A monumental edifice that would become a dominant feature negating the size and character of the current buildings was deliberately not proposed. The façade on the side of Matejki Street has been partly flush with the existing buildings, at the same time obscuring the blind gable wall.
The architects have decided that the new building of the Academy of Music in Poznań will be decorated with brick. They propose the use of several gradations of brick sizes on the façade surface, arranged in openwork, spatial threads that differentiate the individual blocks. The brick and its modularity creates rhythm, order and harmony. It is the basic building block from which various compositions can be created.
The drawing of repetitive elements combined with the partially glazed ground floor gives the impression of openwork, light architecture. The aforementioned rhythmicity is also linked to the function of the building. Just as the bar, the rhythm, the pulse organises the musical piece and gives it dynamics, so it is with the structure of the building,” describe the authors of the project.
The translucent brick façade is designed to prevent the building from overheating while at the same time providing light during the day. The chiaroscuro that is drawn on it enlivens it by adding depth and detail. At night, the façade diffuses the glare of artificial lighting. By projecting it outwards, it gives a subtly dreamlike impression. An additional benefit of the building’s external structure is its ability to isolate sounds from the urban audiosphere.
From the outset, the Academy of Music building was designed as an urban-creating element, binding the existing urban fabric together. Its corner location at the junction of two streets, together with the square in front of the main entrance, was shaped to open up into the adjacent quarters. The building does not dominate the development: it is restrained and tidies up the space, without shouting about its otherness. It combines historical and modernist buildings.
