Work submitted for the competition
"Best Interior Diploma 2020/2022".
The subject of my diploma is the adaptation of an existing, abandoned building into the Art Crucible. The history of its creation dates back to the late 1970s. It was intended to serve as a holiday resort. The building is located in a unique yet respectful environment. I pondered for a long time how to aptly use this potential. I abandoned the thought of designing a hotel, as the area is overcrowded with resorts, focused only on the tourist aspects. I wanted to design a needed place that would bring "new life" to the area, where you can come for a while or stay for a longer period of time and create.
The Melting Pot of Art is located on Lake Rożnowskie
© Aneta Burzec
The designed building is a place to meet art. By the very definition of "melting pot", it indicates mixing, interpenetration - in this case of many fields of art. Fields between which the boundaries are now blurring and interactions are taking place. Multimedia is becoming increasingly important and influential in the resulting works. The proposed space is suitable for concerts using modern tools, vernissages or performances.
the interior is filled with light
© Aneta Burzec
The Crucible of Art is also a place to establish relationships with other people. Responding to contemporary problems concerning interpersonal contacts (mainly closing in one's own world and avoiding contacts), the shaped spaces are to encourage integration and foster meetings. This will be aided by concerts, vernissages, meetings with authors or joint art projects.
The Crucible of Art is a place to establish relationships
© Aneta Burzec
An important consideration for me was how the building would be able to function over the coming years. The interior needed light and breath. In my design, the most significant change is the cutting of sections of the ceilings through all floors and the creation of a coherent space that is open and intermingled in terms of function. The very narrow first floor has been widened on both sides to the line of the upper floors. It is completely glazed so as not to completely lose the characteristic indentation in the building form.
restaurant and winter garden
© Aneta Burzec
When designing, I took into account the needs of people with different personalities and requirements. The resulting spaces were differentiated to accommodate those who prefer to be in company or individually, choosing open or more intimate, sunny or shade-filled spaces. Modular zones are spaces that can be quickly and easily adapted to these requirements.
winter garden
© Aneta Burzec
When designing the winter gardens, I thought of a place that would be a continuation of nature in the interior and, analogously, an element of the interior in the landscape. It's also an attempt to blur the boundaries between the two - by using identical materials, I wanted to avoid the impression of separation.
To facilitate movement through the vast space, the path of communication is based on the principle of a closed loop, in order to be able to "circulate" freely, avoiding the movement of long routes, which would be necessary if there are additional walls.
public part of the building
© Aneta Burzec
The functional program includes a division into three zones, all of which penetrate vertically through the floors: public - accessible to everyone, including outsiders coming for a short time, semi-private - intended for creation, and private.
The private space is particularly separated from the others. Those renting rooms have access to individual studios with a balcony located on the first floor, as well as a zone of tranquility and relaxation, which in turn is located on level 0. The communication routed in this zone allows users to move around without contact with the rest.
The preserved structural columns are covered with raw concrete
© Aneta Burzec
When selecting finishing materials, I was guided by the fact that they should provide a background for such important elements as the works on display, design, greenery of plants or the surrounding landscape. I tried to break up the neutral, subdued tones with color accents. The preserved structural columns are covered with raw concrete to allude to the history of the site, as well as to emphasize the vertical directions. The overriding consideration for me was to vary the textures, juxtaposing materials that reflect the changing light in a different way, but still remain in a similar color scheme. The furniture used in the interiors does not aggressively interfere with the space, it is a complement to it, in addition to being an element of art.
part intended for studios
© Aneta Burzec
Lighting is mostly recessed fixtures installed in the suspended ceiling, at the exposition - a track lighting system, in the restaurant and bar area - slender lamps with soft, atmospheric light, while above the bar, in the relaxation zone and on the second floor - decorative, geometric fixtures as a contemporary interpretation of classic chandeliers.
In addition, a visual identity project for the facility has been prepared.
Aneta BURZEC
Illustrations: © Author
