Upcoming opening. Polish History Museum Building by WXCA
28/08/2023.
[Warsaw] Poland
metalocus, ADELA BONAS
metalocus, ADELA BONAS
The works to complete the second building of the museum complex on the grounds of the Warsaw Citadel (known as Independence Park), the Museum of Polish History designed by WXCA architects, are nearing completion following the recent inauguration, a few days ago, from the Museum of the Polish Army, also designed by the same architects.
The building project is the result of the competition won by WXCA in 2009. The site will also house the existing Tenth Pavilion Museum and the Katyń Museum, as well as the third piece of the competition, a new headquarters for the Museum of the Polish Army.
The building project is the result of the competition won by WXCA in 2009. The site will also house the existing Tenth Pavilion Museum and the Katyń Museum, as well as the third piece of the competition, a new headquarters for the Museum of the Polish Army.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph courtesy of Polish History Museum.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Daniel Ciesielski.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Museum complex model. Polish History Museum Building by WXCA.
Site plan. Polish History Museum Building by WXCA.
Overview rendering. Polish History Museum Building by WXCA.
Outside rendering. Polish History Museum Building by WXCA.
Detail, rendering. Polish History Museum Building by WXCA.
Inside, rendering. Polish History Museum Building by WXCA.
WXCA architects designed the building of the Polish History Museum as a metaphor for history preserved in a monolithic body. It is a philosophical story about historical processes in which stone has become the language of narrative about discovering traces of the past. The minimalist form of the Museum is somewhat reminiscent of a slightly hewn stone block.
“The façade of the Polish History Museum has been laid with marble slabs of varying grain. They are arranged in horizontal strips, emphasizing the layered, stratigraphic structure. It is a structure inherent to geological matter, but also to our archaeology – to the natural, social, and cultural processes occurring one after the other. That's why we opted for marble, which is a stone with a very distinctive grain. Each of the marble slabs is different, unique, just as all history consists of unique, individual events.”
Architect Krzysztof Budzisz of the WXCA studio.
Within these layers, motifs from the Polish architectural tradition have been incorporated, as if they were archaeological remnants from different periods. However, these are not literal quotations, but ornaments subjected to geometric transformations, which are a reference to such patterns as, among others, the relief from the Gniezno Doors, the Gothic diamond vault, or the motif from the modernist Spodek arena in Katowice.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
The large windows on the exhibition floor and glazed openings between the ground floor “city” blocks extending into a network of interrelated spaces within its interiors are a materialization of the concept of openness and friendliness of the Museum, of discoveries, of multidimensional approaches to history, of the freedom of choice of paths of cognition, and of creating personal narrations.
The glazed openings in the building’s facade are also a way of communicating to the surroundings any ongoing activities taking place in various parts of the Museum. Light, both natural, flooding in from the outside through the structure’s openings, and artificial comprise one of the key tools in shaping the Museum’s atmosphere, penetrating and visually joining its internal spaces.
Polish History Museum Building by WXCA. Photograph by Bartek Barczyk.
In addition to the exhibition area and rooms for the storage and conservation of artifacts, the Polish History Museum includes numerous spaces with a cultural function: a concert hall with 600 seats, a screening and theatre room, a library, conference and education rooms, and a terrace to enjoy a panoramic view of Warsaw.
“We designed the interior plan in such a way that the movement between the different functional blocks resembles an immersive experience of flowing inside a stone monolithic block, meandering, entering the depths of history, discovering its multidimensionality".
WXCA
The Polish History Museum will be one of the most advanced currently in Poland and in Europe; covers a surface area of almost 45,000 square meters, a two-level parking lot for employees and visitors has been designed, as well as parking places for coaches, and plans to receive around 500,000 visitors a year.
More information
Architects
Project team
Szczepan Wroński, Paweł Grodzicki, Katarzyna Billik, Krzysztof Budzisz, Kamil Cedzyński, Anna Dobek, Małgorzata Gilarska, Beata Głaz, Marcin Jurusik, Ludwik Kaizerbrecht, Marcin Kruk, Paulina Kucharska, Anna Majewska, Krzysztof Marciszewski, Adam Mierzwa, Mariusz Niemiec, Magdalena E. Nowak, Magdalena J. Nowak, Barbara Połczyńska, Michał Staniszewski, Łukasz Szczepanowicz, Kajetan Szostok, Krystian Tomczyk, Maciej Wewiór, Paweł Wolanin, Michał Żurek.
Collaborators
Structural Engineering.- Buro Happold Poland.
Energy consulting, Facade engineering, MEP site wide infrastructure services design.- Buro Happold Poland.
Acoustics.- PAK Pracownia Akustyczna.
Museum technology.- Janczarski Studio.
Concrete technology.- Bartłomiej Niesłuchowski, Krzysztof Kuniczuk, Karol Chilmon.
Landscape architecture.- Studio Krajobraz.
Road design.- M&T Usługi projektowo-wykonawcze, Civil Transport Designers.
Energy consulting, Facade engineering, MEP site wide infrastructure services design.- Buro Happold Poland.
Acoustics.- PAK Pracownia Akustyczna.
Museum technology.- Janczarski Studio.
Concrete technology.- Bartłomiej Niesłuchowski, Krzysztof Kuniczuk, Karol Chilmon.
Landscape architecture.- Studio Krajobraz.
Road design.- M&T Usługi projektowo-wykonawcze, Civil Transport Designers.
Client
Polish History Museum.
Builder
Budimex S.A. (Inc.).
Area
44,700m². (including 8,000 sq. m. for storerooms and conservation studios of the Polish Army Museum).
Dates Fechas
Competition.- 2009.
Design.- 2016-2017.
Works - completion.- 2018 - 2023.
Design.- 2016-2017.
Works - completion.- 2018 - 2023.
Location
Mokotowska 33/35, Warsaw Citadel, 00-560 Warsaw, Poland.
Photography
Szczepan Wroński, Marta Sękulska-Wrońska, Paweł Grodzicki. WXCA
WXCA is an architecture practice founded in Warsaw in 2007 by Szczepan Wroński, Marta Sękulska-Wrońska and Paweł Grodzicki. It is one of the most prestigious and well-known Polish architecture studios, they were the authors of the Polish Pavilion project at the 2020 World Expo in Dubai. The office continuously participates in urban and architectural projects with a unique, innovative, and sustainable approach, within the framework of private commissions and international competitions.
The studio has won numerous competitions, including the museum complex at the Warsaw Citadel housing the Museum of Polish History and the Museum of the Polish Army (Warsaw, Poland), the European Center for Geological Education (Chęciny, Poland), the boulevards of the Vistula river (Warsaw, Poland), the streets of the New Praga district (Warsaw, Poland). ), the Jozef Pilsudski Museum Exhibition (Sulejowek, Poland), and the “Arsenal” Art Gallery (Bialystok, Poland), WXCA's main focus is complex and multifunctional buildings such as museums, performance halls, and other public functions.
The office is currently working on several public and private projects, including the Museum of Polish History (Warsaw, Poland), Stefan Zeromski Theater (Kielce, Poland), the main city square and the city museum (Radom, Poland ), the Museum of the Lubomirski Prines (Wroclaw, Poland). The studio was nominated twice for the prestigious EU Mies van der Rohe Award.
The studio has won numerous competitions, including the museum complex at the Warsaw Citadel housing the Museum of Polish History and the Museum of the Polish Army (Warsaw, Poland), the European Center for Geological Education (Chęciny, Poland), the boulevards of the Vistula river (Warsaw, Poland), the streets of the New Praga district (Warsaw, Poland). ), the Jozef Pilsudski Museum Exhibition (Sulejowek, Poland), and the “Arsenal” Art Gallery (Bialystok, Poland), WXCA's main focus is complex and multifunctional buildings such as museums, performance halls, and other public functions.
The office is currently working on several public and private projects, including the Museum of Polish History (Warsaw, Poland), Stefan Zeromski Theater (Kielce, Poland), the main city square and the city museum (Radom, Poland ), the Museum of the Lubomirski Prines (Wroclaw, Poland). The studio was nominated twice for the prestigious EU Mies van der Rohe Award.
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