A few minutes from Rybnik's market square, a gray, cubic block resembling a large concrete cube has sprung up in a quarter on the Nacyna River, which is being revitalized by the City. This is the D+P ARCHITEKTURA Paweł Skóra designed headquarters of the River Gallery in Rybnik, which welcomed its first guests in March this year. How does the building of the new cultural institution look like?
The quarter between Hallera, Raciborska and Pocztowa Streets and the Nacyna River had been subject to gradual degradation for years. The square created between the streets was for years strewn with gravel and used as a municipal parking lot. After some time it underwent "revitalization", which consisted of replacing the surface with concrete and getting rid of the square's greatest advantage - the wild vegetation that had been growing there for years. A new idea was needed for the square, so it was decided to locate there a new municipal cultural institution, which at the time came into existence under the name of the Center for Art Education. The creation of the new gallery was sought by Rybnik's art community, for which the space offered by the city's community centers was not sufficient. The exhibition facility was also intended to help promote the work of Adolf Ryszka and Edward Sitek, renowned sculptors in the artistic world. In connection with efforts to revitalize the dilapidated area, the City, in cooperation with the Katowice branch of SARP, announced a competition in 2017 to develop a concept for a seat for the new institution.
The River Gallery in Rybnik
Photo: Marcin Giba | © The River Gallery
captivating simplicity
Later that year, the winning concept by Pawel Skóra of D+P ARCHITECTURE was selected, which the jury appreciated for its "captivating simplicity of its mass", thanks to which the building created according to the project was to become "an important element that organizes the interior of the quarter" and provide "an excellent background for the external exhibition". The verdict also noted, among other things, the adaptation of the developed concept to the modest budget available to the investor and the well-thought-out interior layout. The submitted project envisaged the erection of a simple, cubic block with a spacious lobby with a rectangular outline in the middle of Haller Square. The visualizations from that time are not very specific - it seems that the realization of the building according to the concept presented by Pavel Skóra could have taken on different effects, depending on further modifications to the design and the level of workmanship. So what does the new gallery in the heart of Rybnik ultimately look like?
The River Gallery in Rybnik
Photo: Marcin Giba | © The River Gallery
Rybnik cube
The River Gallery, as this was the name that the new Rybnik cultural institution was eventually christened, stood in the planned location, amidst the chaotic buildings surrounding the former parking lot on Hallera Street. In accordance with the original plans, the building was erected in the form of a minimalist, cubic block. The only accents, disrupting the simplicity of uniform elevations, are four entrance openings located within each of the outer walls of the building and longitudinal windows providing light to the first floor. Thanks to this solution, the River Gallery headquarters does not have a dominant facade, and visitors can enter the building from any side. The facades were covered with graphite-colored plaster - this is perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the new gallery's outer shell. The chosen shade blends with the concrete plaza that wraps around the building. In an era of raging heat and the increasingly troublesome "urban heat islands," this does not evoke the happiest associations. The workmanship is also not the best - observing the facade from a little further away, one can see the damp patches that have formed on the structural plaster. It's hard to say whether the effect is intentional or rather related to the low budget of the investment.
River Gallery in Rybnik
Photo: Marcin Giba | © The River Gallery
However, the uncharacteristic exterior elevations have their justification. As Paweł Skóra, the project's author, explains, they are primarily intended to provide a neutral background for future outdoor exhibitions, without distracting attention from what is most important in art galleries. Already the first works, made as part of art workshops organized on the occasion of Children's Day, are appearing behind the glass of the window openings.
River Gallery in Rybnik
Photo: Marcin Giba | © The River Gallery
all in white
While one may have small reservations about the effect of the exterior of the River Gallery, its interiors certainly deserve praise. These refer to the aesthetic known in museology as a white cube, i.e. exhibition spaces characterized by maximum simplicity, incidental lighting from above and uniform, snow-white color of the walls. Whether the white cube is still the best model of exhibition space in the 21st century is the subject of a separate discussion, but there is no denying that it is still considered a standard solution, giving great flexibility in arranging exhibitions.
The River Gallery in Rybnik
Photo: Marcin Giba | © The River Gallery
Visitors to the River Gallery are welcomed by a spacious entrance hall, around which all rooms are oriented, both on the first floor and on the first floor. The central space, which serves as an additional small exhibition hall, is illuminated by a skylight suspended at a height of 10 meters. The first floor is mainly occupied by rooms of a utilitarian nature - here we can find ticket offices as well as checkrooms, office and social rooms or toilets. The Gallery's offer is also enriched by educational and conference rooms, separated from each other by sliding walls, which, if necessary, allow the rooms to be combined into one large room.
The River Gallery in Rybnik
Photo: Marcin Giba | © The River Gallery
The first floor is accessed by a two-run staircase and an elevator adapted to the needs of people with mobility disabilities. Two spacious exhibition rooms with a total area of over 440 square meters are located on the upper floor. Both rooms are open to the "well" created by the hall rising to the height of both levels, thanks to which the uniform structure is broken, giving the exhibition halls a slightly scenographic character. The halls are organically connected by corridors oriented around the hall, allowing those curating the exhibitions to afford greater flexibility in creating the displays. By default, the exhibition spaces are designed for one permanent exhibition and one temporary exhibition.
The River Gallery in Rybnik
photo: Marcin Giba | © The River Gallery
new face of the neighborhood
The opening of the River Gallery in Rybnik is another step aimed at revitalizing a neighborhood in the heart of the city that has been neglected for years. This is because the activities of the new institution are to go beyond its walls, taking advantage of the spacious area of the square on Hallera Street surrounding the Gallery. So far, after only three months of operation, the River Gallery has managed to organize many events around the building, intended for both children and adults. In the future, a sculpture park, showcasing open-air artistic forms, is also to be built near the facility. The exhibition program of Rybnik's new cultural institution is also intensive - its activities opened with a bang with exhibitions presenting the work of Adolf Ryszka and Chris Niedenthal, while in June a temporary exhibition presenting the artistic work of people from Dorsten, Rybnik's partner city, was made available.
River Gallery in Rybnik
Photo: Marcin Giba | © The River Gallery
The River project
The new gallery is part of a larger project, operating under the name River Zone, which is designed to revitalize the quarter between Hallera, Raciborska and Pocztowa Streets and the Nacyna River. Already in 2019, due to plans to build the River Gallery and eliminate the possibility of parking in Haller Square, a storied parking lot was built nearby. As part of the initiative, it was decided to renovate and modernize two 19th-century buildings of the city's slaughterhouse, which will now serve retail and service functions. A section of the Nacyna waterfront, located within the quarter, was also developed, where a boulevard was arranged. The transformed quarter will be populated by people who will live in a new building being erected from a design by SLAS architekci studio by Rybnik's Social Housing Association.
If we want the city to live, people must live in it. Otherwise small business, catering and services will collapse in the center, " reminds Piotr Kuczera, Rybnik's mayor. - Considering that 80 apartments under construction on Hallera Street have already found their tenants, it is clear how attractive it is to live in. Apartments, service points, an art gallery - all connected by a functional transportation system - make this place accessible to drivers as well as pedestrians and cyclists, " explained the mayor Piotr Kuczera in an interview with the Rybnik.eu portal.
The River Gallery is thus the icing on the ribnik cake, whose activities will benefit both the immediate neighborhood and the entire city.
