Riegler Riewe Architekten
Schlesisches Museum Katowice
best architects 15 in Gold
public buildings
Place
Katowice / Poland
Studio
Photos
Paolo Rosselli / Milano
Description
The history of the city of Katowice is closely linked to the themes of heavy industry and mining. This industrial past is part of the cultural heritage that gives the region its identity and its cultural-historical backbone, and it has left behind distinctive artificial landscapes and industrial complexes. The coal mine is located in close proximity to the city centre, which offered a unique opportunity to establish a beacon project in terms of urban planning, landscape planning and architecture that points the way forward to innovative post-industrial re-use of comparable areas. Placing the premises largely underground as a tribute to the former function of the site allows for a broad variety of museum uses with minimal intervention on the surface. From outside, the entire complex announces itself exclusively through abstract glass cubes (housing administrative offices, access facilities, etc.), which are dimensioned and proportioned to blend harmoniously into the listed ensemble of existing buildings.