The Krakow Tenement House near Wawel , Kraków/ Polen

Press release by BXB studio

 

 

 

 

The revitalization of the historical tenement house at 10 Powiśle Street in Krakow, in the immediate vicinity of the Royal Castle, is an unique opportunity to introduce new quality of the Vistula waterfront in the center of the Old Town. This seemingly unattractive building had once its glory days. It was built around 1900 and was the first tenement house on the present frontage of Powiśle Street. It had high aesthetic values ​​and numerous decorations. It was finished with beautiful red bricks and contrasting elements of bright colors.

 

In 1930, the tenement house had a top highest floor added, which was lower than the existing one, probably intended for local fishermen and workers. As a result of reconstruction, it lost all of its glory. Decorations were removed, the brick was covered with plaster, and the proportions were disturbed. The building lost its beauty, which had been refined by the creators of the original project. In the following years, tenement houses in different architectural styles as well as in completely different scale were built in the frontage of Powiśle Street.

 

We decided to restore the original splendor and beautiful proportions of the designed tenement house, using design measures appropriate to the current times, the context of the place, and the achievements of modern technology. The revitalization involves restoration of the original brick and historical decorations and removal of the top floor, which was carelessly built-up in later years. Thanks to this the tenement house will regain its original proportions and character from 1900.

 

However, after restoring its original condition, the historical tenement house does not fit so well into the present-day frontage of Powiśle Street. Neighboring tenement houses overwhelm it and create unattractive, disproportionate massive gable walls, which is why we propose an innovative structure. We notice also that in its current state, the ground floor of Powiśle Street is an unattractive and a neglected space. It lacks the city-forming factor, the magnet attracting the interest of passers-by and  so-called active ground floor. We decided to give this role to the design tenement house at 10 Powiśle Street, suggesting the fullest possible opening of historical interiors to the adjacent urban space. Fully glazed ground floor facade will also become a museum exhibition, showing exposed historical walls and ceilings. By revealing the facade of the ground floor, we create a new “city lounge” that will connect the street space with the commercial interior of the tenement house.

 

The structure of the building defines an innovative structure that grows out of the historical DNA of the place. We aim to find motives typical for Krakow, we are inspired by local architecture - the Wawel Royal Castle, a multitude of styles, Gothic, Krakow domes, Renaissance cloisters and Modernism. We use the most modern and enviromenmetally friendly technology - CLT glued timber construction, which will minimize the construction loads on the historical substance, as well as transfer a significant part of the work from the construction site to the factory where precise prefabricated elements will be produced.

 

New, modern form emerges, which grows out of history and tradition. The division of the structure originates from the lower floors and the lines of the windows flow smoothly into the coffered wooden ceiling. Through a soft, slightly deviating line, which refers to the structures of Gothic and Krakow domes, we obtain a beautiful covering of the gable walls of neighboring tenement houses, while minimizing the scale and height of the building seen from the Powiśle Street. Moreover, the construction of our structure gains innovative, extraordinary dynamics. Observing this object from a perspective, the building has a distinctly Gothic character, with soaring lines, while from close up it resembles Renaissance arcades, even closer it turns into soft forms - reminiscence of Baroque ornaments. Thus, we obtained a new, dynamic form defined by the perception of the human eye in various ways, depending on the perspective.

 

The front elevation of the building creates an interior of Krakow's contemporary chambers - probably the most attractive hotel rooms in the city, due to the location, view, character of the interior, as well as unique and pioneering elegance of the designed structure. This structure framework flows smoothly from the facade into a coffered wooden ceiling that decorates hotel rooms. These beautiful wooden ceilings continue the character of historical Krakow interiors. The roof of our structure becomes a usable terrace, another city lounge, a viewing point for tourists or a place to spend time outdoors. The architecture of the so-called fifth facade, i.e. the roof, has high aesthetical values ​​and is consistent with the construction of the main structure.

 

Through a creative interpretation of local historical patterns, the project of the Krakow Tenement House near Wawel was created. It has been restored to its original beauty, details and proportions. This not only intrigues and evokes emotions, but above all will gain the social value of the museum facility by exposing the historic interiors of the ground floor so that they become, in a way, the property of every passer-by and participant in city life. The tenement house creates a new architectural quality in this place, which is extremely important for Krakow, and fits into city´s contemporary waterfront.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIO

 

 

 

 

He graduated from the Fachhochschule Muenster in Germany and Cracow University of Technology in Poland. Bogusław founded BXB studio in December 2009 after working for a number of world-renowned firms, including Foster and Partners. Since Febuary 2012 he has been an academic employee at AFMKU at the Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts. In 2014, Boguslaw Barnaś was selected as one of 20 world’s best young architectural talents by Wallpaper* and his projects were presented at London Festival of Architecture. In 2018, he received the Architekci Małopolski 2017 Award – for The Polish Eaves Cottage and PLGBC Green Building Awards for the best sustainable design – Eco Warsaw Tower. In 2019, he received PLGBC Green Building Award for the best sustainable design – Symbiotic House. In 2021 The Polish Eaves Cottage design was the winner of the ‘Global Design Architecture Awards - Rethinking the Future’ as the only project from around the world in this category. He also received the ‘German Design Award 2022 Special’ and The European Property Award for this house. In 2022 he was selected as one of the top 10 best Polish architects according to Property Design. The Polish Farmhouse has made it onto the Dezeen Awards 2022 architecture longlist and in 2022 two of his projects – The Farmhouse and Polish House have been made finalists in World Architecture Festival awards.