Modern form or traditionalism? A new Co-operative Bank building will be erected in Tarnobrzeg's Old Town, which stands at the crossroads between modern architectural trends and historical form. The Rzeszow office MWM Architekci is responsible for its design.
The history of cooperative banking in Tarnobrzeg dates back to the end of the 19th century, when the Communal Savings and Loan Bank was established. After years of historical and legal turmoil, it was eventually renamed the Cooperative Bank of Tarnobrzeg, which continues to operate today. Its modern headquarters was built back in 1967 - it is a small building with a square plan and three stories, intended to relate to the historical buildings of the neighborhood in which it is located. Indeed, the Cooperative Bank building stands on Sokolia Street, within the Old Town. This fact, as it turns out, was of considerable importance for the form of its new headquarters, which was designed by the Rzeszow-based MWM Architekci studio.
The new building of the Cooperative Bank in Tarnobrzeg
© MWM Architekci
New bank in the Old Town
In the immediate vicinity of the Cooperative Bank building are, among others, the eclectic edifice of the "Sokol" Sports Association, dating back to early 1910, the old brewery on Jachowicza Street, and the building of the former District Council on Kosciuszko Street, which today serves as the City Hall. Some of the surrounding buildings, despite their much shorter metrics, are also, with better or worse results, trying to operate with historicizing forms. One of the main reasons for this is the protection status of Tarnobrzeg's urban and landscape layout, which was entered in the Provincial Register of Monuments as early as the 1980s.
The building of the Cooperative Bank at 12 Sokola Street had been falling into an increasingly deteriorating technical condition for a long time and did not conform to modern functional and aesthetic standards. For this reason, a decision was made to build a new building to stand on the same site. The concept was developed by the MWM Architekci design team from Rzeszow, working closely with the Provincial Conservator of Monuments on this task.
The new building of the Cooperative Bank in Tarnobrzeg
© MWM Architekci
two in one
The result of this cooperation is a rather unusual project, which tries to combine two completely alien formal languages - historical buildings and modern architecture. The building will consist of two, divergent blocks. On the side of Sokole Street, the new headquarters of the Cooperative Bank of Tarnobrzeg will take the form of a reference to a historical tenement house with three stories. The highest of these will actually be an attic, hidden under a hipped roof with a truncated top. Three cuboidal dormers will emerge from the front elevation. An important element of the project is the way the ground floor is solved - as the southeast corner, located on the street side, will be glazed, tying the interior of the building to its surroundings and inviting passersby inside.
The new building of the Cooperative Bank in Tarnobrzeg
© MWM Architekci
The second part of the building, hidden in the depths of the plot, will look quite different. Here the architects could afford a bit more freedom in operating the language of forms of modern architecture. However, they opted for minimalism - behind the more representative, "tenement" block will appear an object with an austere, cuboid form. The impression of heaviness, resulting from the lack of architectural details, gray facade cladding and small window sections will be broken by placing a fully glazed superstructure on top of the building. Within it will be located the Bank's management offices.
The new building of the Cooperative Bank in Tarnobrzeg
© MWM Architekci
MWM Architekci also took care of the design of the interiors, which, according to the concept, will, like the representative body of the building, move away from cool minimalism in favor of warmer forms. According to the authors, their "natural colors and materials, upholstered furniture and cladding create a friendly, family atmosphere both in the public areas and in the areas designated exclusively for bank employees."
The new building of the Cooperative Bank in Tarnobrzeg
© MWM Architects
a little bit of everything
According to the designers, a legal building permit has been successfully obtained, and the search for a contractor is currently underway. The building is expected to be ready in the first half of 2026. Will the new Bank in the heart of Tarnobrzeg beautify the city? It is unlikely to harm it, as the surrounding development, apart from a few historic buildings, is not one of the most successful. The eclectic forms of nearby, more contemporary developments don't look the best, and their historicity lies mainly in the use of light-colored facades, sloping red-tiled roofs and protruding dormers. That's not all, however - all sorts of housing types merrily mix on Sokole. From modernist, communist-era public buildings, to single-family houses, to office buildings from the early 2000s. A building of any form, whether more modern or historicist, would similarly find itself in this landscape. So was the preservationist's influence necessary and, more importantly, positive? Although the decisions of preservation offices can have negative effects on the design of newly constructed buildings, it seems that in the case of the Tarnobrzeg investment of a rather small scale, located in a medium-sized town, the effect can be considered satisfactory.
