Closing a gap
The Krzysztof Kies´lowski Faculty was founded in 1978. Celebrating its 40th anniversary last year, it moved into a new building in the city centre. Lecturers and students now enjoy the use of professional studios and seminar spaces in a complex with a floor area of 5,400 m². The faculty development also plays a major role in the revitalization of the surrounding urban district.
The Pawła-Wodna-Górnicza area is characterized by housing blocks dating from the late 19th century that are typical of Upper Silesia. Their traditional brick facades have been blackened by coalmining, which for a long time was the dominant industry of Katowice.
Today, many of the buildings stand empty or dilapidated. Entire blocks have been demolished, and the wasteland was used as parking space. With the aim of revitalizing this area, the city granted the University of Silesia a site for the construction of a new faculty building here.
For the Barcelona architects Baas this was their first project outside Spain. In 2010, a competition was held, which they won in collaboration with the Warsaw office Grupa 5. For the project planning, the Spanish-Polish team of architects was joined by the Małeccy office in Katowice.
Brickwork and square
Reflecting the urban tradition, the structure is laid out in rectangular form with an internal courtyard. In its height and cross-section, the four-storey front tract reflects the construction of other buildings in the street. The side tracts and the rear strip, only two storeys high, also echo the form of neighbouring developments. A transformer substation dating from the late 19th century - what was left of a light-bulb factory - was not demolished, as required by the competition brief, but was incorporated in the complex. The new facade, a latticework of open clinker elements, is drawn round the existing structure like a protective skin. The coal dust was washed off the old facade simply with water in order to retain the blackened appearance. This also inspired the architects in their choice of materials: the dark, coal-fired bricks form a link with the past. Not only the facade, also the floor finishings and walls consist of brick materials.
A faculty of light
Light plays a special role for film-makers. As it enters the present building in an ever-changing form through the latticework facade and is reflected by the brick floor, the effect is reminiscent of a magic lantern. Similarly, the dark tones of the brick walling, the grey exposed-concrete soffits and the anthracite-coloured steel glazing sections all help to create the subdued ambience of a cinema.
In accordance with Hermann Hertzberger's idea of the school as a city in itself, the access routes here were conceived as public spaces where people can socialize. Benches and armchairs invite students to congregate and exchange ideas. The flooring, consisting of 25 × 12 × 6.5 cm bricks laid on edge, might also be found in the street. The corridors - neither internal nor external spaces - are intermediate zones enclosing the atrium, which forms the heart of the faculty. This uncovered area at the centre of the complex draws students and lecturers outdoors.
To the east, the building abuts the neighbouring development, which means that natural lighting is not possible. Accommodated here are a cinema, a photo studio with a darkroom and production spaces. In the southern tract, two floors are taken up by the film studio with access to a further, small courtyard. Here, outdoor shots are possible in immediate proximity to the studio.
In the four-storey front block, housed within the walls of the old substation, is the library. Administrative areas are located on the first floor. From here, a staircase leads up over two storeys to the lecture halls. Integrated in the building tract along the road, they rise on the courtyard side above the level of the adjoining development and receive daylight from the west. In the roof storey, light enters diagonally from above, almost with the effect of stage lighting.
What persuaded you to take part in a competition for a film school in Katowice?
A few years ago, I was there to give a lecture. I saw a city quite different from those I had known hitherto: the buildings tell of their own past. There used to be a lot of coalmining, and this had coloured the city black. I saw all these black facades, and I thought to myself: what a bold character the city has! There was something beautiful in the colour and the old appearance of Katowice. When we heard of the competition to be held there, we decided to take part. I wanted to show how I thought new buildings in this city should look.
How did your collaboration with the Polish offices come about?
We worked on the competition proposals here in Barcelona. Because it was an international competition, we felt that it was important to participate with a local partner. For that reason, we submitted our proposals jointly with the Polish office Grupa 5. We were acquainted with them through one of our colleagues who had worked with them for some months. After we had won the competition, the client wanted us to work together with a local practice. The Grupa 5 office is in Warsaw - quite a long way from Katowice. At a lecture I had given there years ago, I had met Wojciech Małecki from the Małeccy office. That's how our collaboration came about.
How did you work together over such a distance?
During the design phase, I often visited the site, and Wojciech Małecki frequently came to see us in Barcelona. We phoned and e-mailed each other a lot. When work began on site, Alba Azuara from Baas was there once a month. The working drawings were done by us in Barcelona, and Małeccy checked the planning to see that it complied with Polish building regulations. He was also our contact person with specialist planners and building contractors there. It was possible for us to be intensely involved in the construction process even over a great distance.
Were there differences in approach? We were very keen to acquaint ourselves with the traditional form of construction and to find the right material. Wojciech Malecki was very helpful in this respect. He found the appropriate brick in a works with a ring kiln that was still fired with coal. That's what caused all the inclusions and irregularities in the material. The main difference in the approach is that here in Barcelona we always begin a project with the site. In our culture, it's very important to know the attributes of a location so as not to destroy them. In Poland, that seems to be different: colleagues there don't attach so much significance to these things.
What contribution can the new faculty building make to the urban development?
We hope the building will infuse new life into this part of the city. Perhaps people will come to recognize that it's a beautiful place to live and work, near the centre and the university, that it's a good area in which to invest in refurbishment. It would be a shame to demolish the existing buildings there. They should be kept and reanimated.
