Naturally modernistic - Amphitheater in Krynica-Zdrój

Despite their significant architectural value and conservation and nature protection, tourist destinations are governed by their own rules. Regardless of their geographic location, many of them are filled with chaotic buildings that almost caricaturedly imitate local architecture or, for a change, do not care about local conditions. From time to time, however, there are developments that stand out from the mountain or coastal macabre. One of them is the new amphitheater designed by the SANECCY studio, which stood at the foot of Parkowa Mountain in Krynica-Zdrój.

The first visualizations of the new amphitheater circulated the Krynica media back in 2019. At that time, a futuristic object was presented, covered with a canopy in the form of a sail pinned to a mast towering over the area. To say that the concept by TRZ Design Bureau did not fit in with its surroundings is like saying nothing. However, a different design, growing out of a completely different philosophy, was eventually submitted for implementation. Did the decision made by the authorities of Krynica work out for the town?

Amphitheater in Krynica-Zdroj

photo: Rafał Barnaś

The amphitheater in Krynica-Zdroj

The new amphitheater, located at the foot of Parkowa Mountain in Krynica-Zdroj, is a structure planned on a circular projection. Thirteen-row grandstands, designed to accommodate about 1,100 seats, are one-third covered with a canopy with a dynamic, geometric form. In the center of the semicircle defined by the stands a stage of 90 square meters was developed. The whole is accompanied by technical rooms located in the western part of the facility.

Amphitheater in Krynica-Zdroj

photo: Rafał Barnaś

nature of culture

The designers distinguished three axes of inspiration for the form of the new facility on Parkowa Mountain. The first of these was nature. The building is located within the Spa Park, established on the western side of Park Hill back in 1810. The rich stand of trees includes a multitude of species, one of which inspired the shape of the amphitheater's canopy:

Within the park there are also many extremely valuable, sizeable specimens of native species, such as the common beech and sycamore maple. The latter provides valuable inspiration for shaping the form of the canopy of the amphitheater building.

Amphitheater in Krynica-Zdrój

photo: Rafał Barnaś

Spa waters, the most important treasure of Krynica-Zdrój, were also an important inspiration for the form of the canopy. It was they that inspired the shape of the central part of the canopy, which was resolved in the likeness of a crystal geometric cup.

Amphitheater in Krynica-Zdroj

photo: Rafał Barnaś

local inspiration, modernistic flair

As the authors explain, an important point of reference for the designed object was Krynica's architecture, especially the buildings located in the immediate vicinity of the amphitheater. Inspiration was sought in the 19th-century villas located on the J. Dietl promenade in the center of Krynica-Zdrój. The villas of White Rose, Witoldówka or White Eagle are architecture characteristic of mountainous regions - wooden, ornate, and above all crowned with steep, usually gabled roofs.
It is precisely these steepnesses that constitute one of the basic means of expression used in shaping the canopy of the amphitheater on Park Mountain. This is because the structure consists of several lobed segments that, when viewed from the outside, take on a "V" shape. The whole brings to mind the edges of an open fan.

Amphitheater in Krynica-Zdroj

photo: Rafał Barnaś

The wooden buildings on the avenue of Jozef Dietl, the initiator of spa activities in Krynica, are also referred to by the material used to finish the roof palate. The design team here decided on a wooden, larch soffit, under which the installations, necessary for the operation of the technical equipment of the amphitheater, were placed.

Amphitheater in Krynica-Zdroj

photo: Rafał Barnaś

Inspiration was also sought in the younger buildings of Krynica-Zdroj. Here the authors of the project point to the famous sanatorium "Patria" (designed by Bohdan Pniewski) or the New Spa House (designed by Witold Minkiewicz). The most important context, however, had to be the lower station of the cable car to Park Mountain, designed by the League for the Promotion of Tourism and the Regulation Bureau at the Spa Commission, headed by architect Włodzimierz Winkler. However, it is in vain to look for mindless imitation or direct quotations in the Sanecki's design. The modernist spirit of the amphitheater is evidenced by the simplicity and purposefulness of the construction, the geometric form or the prominence of concrete supports with dynamic shapes, supporting the outer edges of the canopy. It is difficult to look for specific reasons for such an impression, but the term "modernist" sounds extremely natural in the context of the amphitheater.

Amphitheater in Krynica-Zdroj

photo: Rafał Barnaś

at the foot of the mountain

No significant changes have been made to the surroundings of the new building. As the project's creators explain, it was decided only to create a few additional slopes, including a slope by the northeast wall of the grandstand, where there were stairs leading to the upper levels of the amphitheater. Instead, the transportation concept of the immediate area has changed:

Through the newly designed traffic system, the amphitheater building and the existing building of the lower station of the cable car to Parkowa Mountain were connected with Dietl Boulevards and Nikifor Avenue by a pedestrian and roadway route. Sidewalks and pedestrian and roadways were designed with fine granite pavers in the color of sandstone. The surface of the bypass around the crown of the amphitheater and the stairs leading to the President Hotel were also envisaged from the same carpeted granite cube.

- write the architects on the realization.

Amphitheater in Krynica-Zdrój

photo: Rafał Barnaś

construction puzzle

The construction of the amphitheater in Krynica was a major challenge for structural reasons:

The geometry of the building was very complex. The canopy is formed of kinked lobes with variable angles and twists on their lengths. In addition, the central support was an element with a variable cross-section in height. The entire structure, due to the significant spans between supports, was designed as reinforced prestressed post-tensioned concrete. The complicated architectural solution and utility requirements were a hindrance in shaping the reinforcement at particular locations, among other things, in designing the arrangement of prestressing cables and their anchorages. The airtightness of the canopy structure was ensured by using waterproof concrete and prestressing the structure so as not to introduce membranes or other insulating coatings. Both the construction of the canopy and the central support required very labor-intensive formwork and reinforcement work, and the concreting process itself was divided into several stages and required manual troweling of the upper planes of the canopy.

- writes Piotr Sokal, a partner in the STATIKO studio responsible for the structural design of the amphitheater.

The amphitheater in Krynica-Zdrój

photo: Rafał Barnaś

precious water

Parkowa Mountain in Krynica-Zdroj is a space that is under multidimensional protection. In addition to the natural conditions, what has brought the greatest fame to Krynica are, of course, the springs of the spa water. The technology and adopted construction solutions used in erecting the amphitheater had to take into account the safety of the precious resource:

The area available for construction was very limited, due in part to the proximity of the lower station of the cable car to Parkowa Mountain and the Palenica stream flowing at the foot of the amphitheater. The area of mineral water springs forced the reduction of the facility's facilities to about 1/3 of the originally planned size. In the arrangements with the Spa for earthwork and foundation work, there was a requirement that only large-diameter piles be used for construction. It was not permitted to drill more piles of smaller diameters. This was necessary to eliminate any possible negative impact on the mineral water resources present.

- explains Dr. Piotr Sokal.

The amphitheater in Krynica-Zdrój

photo: Rafał Barnaś

Of considerable importance was also the conservation protection that extends over this valuable area from the point of view of architectural heritage:

An additional challenge at the design and implementation stage was to adapt the structural solutions to the conditions arising from the architectural design and conservation recommendations. The layout of the canopy panels was adopted so that the amphitheater obscured the building of the lower station of the railroad as little as possible, and at the same time the conditions of construction and those arising from the technology of works were met. To further harmonize the construction solution with the surrounding architecture and surroundings, appropriate color admixtures were used in the concrete mix so that the amphitheater would relate to the neighboring buildings.

- explains the designer.

Amphitheater in Krynica-Zdrój

photo: Rafał Barnaś

humble architecture

The new amphitheater appeared in the strongly defined surroundings of the lower station of the Parkowa Mountain Railway. It is accompanied by the modernist building of the station, the pump house of Jan Spa waters or the brick Villa Pod Berłem, with Nikifor Krynicki alley winding between them. Despite this, the design team created a concept for a building that looks as if it had always stood there - the amphitheater in Krynica is neither modern nor eclectic. The lump of the canopy is distinctive and full of symbolic and formal references, but it does not dominate the surroundings or try to focus all the attention on itself, creating an adequate complement to the modernist building above it. Finally, it aptly fits into the complex, sloping relief of the area located at the foot of Mount Parkowa.

Amphitheater in Krynica-Zdroj

photo: Rafał Barnaś

Observing new buildings in tourist destinations, we usually note with trepidation another loss to the natural and architectural landscape. In the case of the amphitheater in Krynica-Zdroj, things are quite different - the new public building not only does not disturb the existing order, but also adds significant value to the built environment and natural surroundings in this locality. If one should already build in similar circumstances, it is with such sensitivity and humility as the project from SANECCY studio presents.

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