From the archives of A&B - the best Polish projects of the last decade
[original material A&B 04'2016]
We recall an interview with Jan Belina-Brzozowski - one of the authors of the concept of the Katyn Museum realized in the Warsaw Citadel. Katarzyna Mikulska talks about the space of silence, the way of visiting, as well as the role of greenery in the project, recently honored with the title of the best public building in Central and Eastern Europe (East Centric Architecture Triennale Award) awarded at the Bucharest Architecture Triennale.
Katarzyna Mikulska: Your project won first place in the competition for the program and spatial concept of the Katyn Museum. What made it stand out from the others and what was the jury's justification?
Jan Belina-Brzozowski: Krystyna Zachwatowicz said that the project was the most modest, but the strongest in expression. I think this is an apt summary. We tried not to epitomize the form, but to make a project that would guide visitors very matter-of-factly and present the subject. We wanted it to fit into the context of the Citadel and also bring new value to the space. We didn't want the project to shout, but rather to create a space of silence and reflection in which history could be contemplated.
site plan
© BBGK Architects
Catherine: The Katyn Museum is a difficult project because of the history it is associated with. What kind of analysis did you do before starting the design?
Jan: We did a lot of analyses in different areas. In the area of the scenario, it was historical analyses, we had to go into this history, get to know it. In the design context, it was largely the scope of activities in the historic context, so a number of analyses related to the condition of the buildings. There were structural analyses, excavations, a lot of ground investigations and a full range of preservation studies.
longitudinal cross-section
© BBGK Architects
Catherine: What were the most important design considerations?
Jan: I think it was to tell the story of the Katyn massacre not just as the crime itself, but the whole story of the people, their families. And also about learning about this crime: the history of the Katyn lie and the history of uncovering it. We wanted this space to be a place of tribute to the fallen. The form and contemplative mood of the museum was to be the answer to these thoughts. However, these assumptions were not explicitly formulated at the beginning of the conceptual work. On the way of discussion and the creative process we arrived at this form. So one can rather summarize the whole project in this way.
Catherine: The museum is not one building, but a whole establishment. What elements does it consist of and what is in them?
Jan: The museum is located in the southern bastion of the Citadel. It is an area of about 3 hectares, located closest to the old city. The entrance to the bastion is the historic Nowomiejska Gate located at the end of Zakroczymska Street. Inside the bastion we have placed a parade ground with a symbolic Katyn Forest. The second of the historic buildings, which houses the main part of the museum, is the former caponier, which is a two-story artillery building that was used to fire the Citadel's foreground. Another important space is the guard path, located between the rampart and the Citadel wall, with a length of about 200 meters. At the end of the path is the arcade cannon building. All these buildings are made of brick. The final element is a cut in the rampart and a staircase leading to a square inside the bastion.
cross sections of the passage
© BBGK Architects
Catherine: A tour route is planned for the museum. How is it laid out and what impact is it expected to have on visitors?
Jan: We divided the tour route into several elements. The sections are related to the different functions that the different parts of the museum were supposed to perform and to the narrative itself, the scenario of the tour. The first element is the Prologue, which allows us to gradually introduce the audience to the story. The black path leading from the gate lowers toward the entrance to the caponier. In the middle of the path, in the center of the square, is the Warta, a symbolic Katyn Forest, where trees are planted in rows like standing soldiers. There is also the art installation Scar by Jerzy Kalina, which depicts the collapsing ground in the forest and introduces an element of anxiety. From the level of the square we enter the second floor of the caponier building.
The exhibition is divided into two parts. On the second floor there is a space we called Discovery. It presents the history of the families from 1939 onward, followed by the camps, the crime and the discovery of that crime. It is a substantive story so that we can learn about the history of Katyn. Then we go slowly downstairs, on a special platform, to a space we called Testimony. It is devoted exclusively to displaying various artifacts excavated from the death pits. We made the assumption that there would be no multimedia, and other elements would be kept to a minimum. It is an exposition of objects as witnesses that we can view in silence. Thanks to their vast accumulation, we realize the enormity of the Katyn crime.
Exposition of artifacts excavated from the death pits
Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © BBGK Architects
Catherine: What is located next?
Jan: Then there is the moment of exit from the caponier. On the lower level, we come out onto the guard path, which has been named the Avenue of the Absent. Jerzy Kalina, the sculptor who worked with us, has set up pedestals there, which are not crowned with busts or people. They only feature occupations, professions of people who died. They symbolize the absence of these people in our lives, in our history. Along the path we come to the Epitaph - an arcaded building, inside which are the names of the murdered victims of the Katyn massacre. They are placed on steel plaques, not engraved, but embossed in the way they are written on immortals. The element that closes the tour path is the cutting of the wall by vertical, 12-meter-high walls, between which there are stairs leading up to the square. This space strongly affects the visitor. It is an exit towards heaven, an element of hope at the end of the road.
Along the Alley of the Absent are pedestals erected by Jerzy Kalina, on which are inscribed the professions of the people who died
Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © BBGK Architects
Katarzyna: The co-author of the project was Jerzy Kalina, among others, whom you mentioned. How was the cooperation with the co-authors of the project?
Jan: The cooperation was complex and difficult due to the different nature of the profession of architect and artist. Our cooperation with Jerzy Kalina was tumultuous, but ultimately yielded good results. The difficulty of the project also lay in the high complexity of the issues. There were scenario and exhibition teams, and groups of experts on the investor's side. Coordination fell on us, we had to bring everything together and put it into an architectural framework, specific regulations. I think that with so many parties, tensions are a natural part of the design process.
Catherine: There is a lot of greenery on the museum grounds. What role does it play in the overall design?
Jan: We tried to incorporate greenery into the concept of the museum. In the square, in an orderly space where assemblies, assemblies or masses can take place, there is the Warta River, the symbolic Katyn Forest. It has an orderly form in contrast to the space of the guard path, the Avenue of the Absent. There, we wanted to evoke the mood of the forests where the Katyn graves are located.
A projection and view of the symbolic Katyn Forest on the parade ground
pic: © BBGK Architects, photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © BBGK Architects
Catherine: What problems, which you did not expect, did you encounter during the implementation stage? Did you manage to overcome them?
Jan: It seems to me that the implementation process was much easier than the design stage. On the other hand, the biggest implementation problems arose from difficult soil and water conditions. Due to the fact that there used to be a river flowing in the vicinity of the Citadel, there was waterlogging and sogging of the facilities. We had tremendous trouble with regulating this situation, and in order to control it we supplemented the design solutions with new elements several times during implementation.
On the walls of red concrete are reflected objects - witnesses to the crime
Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © BBGK Architekci
Catherine: The Katyn Museum covers only a fragment of the Citadel area. Its area also includes the 10th Pavilion - a branch of the Museum of Independence. What are the plans for developing the rest of the Citadel?
Jan: Currently there are plans for it to be a museum complex. The main element of it is to be the Museum of the Polish Army. WXCA, an architectural studio from Warsaw, won a competition to develop this project a few years ago and has a building permit. It is likely that implementation will begin soon. With such a change that the planned edifice is to house two museums: the Museum of the Polish Army and the Museum of Polish History. Both of these museums will be located in the Citadel's main space, at Gwardia Square. One of the entrances to the museum complex is to be the Nowomiejska Gate, which is currently the entrance to the Katyn Museum.
Catherine: Thank you for the interview.
