The subject of my thesis is the Automotive Museum in Cracow. The site selected for the study is located in the eastern part of the city, in the Czyżyny district, surrounded by public facilities (shopping mall, performance hall and fair and congress facility) and multi-family housing.
The plot is located directly at the intersection of Pokoju Avenue and Nowohucka Street. The intersection is known for its heavy traffic - this was the factor that motivated me to try to solve the problem of pedestrians moving through busy, dangerous intersections. According to police statistics, twenty-five percent of traffic accidents are those involving pedestrians at major intersections. To prevent them, it is necessary to ensure that pedestrians are as safe as possible when crossing intersections.
The second factor that motivated me to develop the concept of the Automotive Museum with a footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists was environmental protection and the promotion of an active model of spending time among residents. Another task of the complex was to connect existing public buildings. The museum, together with the footbridge, is intended to provide pedestrians and cyclists with the opportunity to move safely between these facilities.
The Cracow location of the Automotive Museum is not accidental, as the first car in Poland was built in this very city. Its designer was Wincenty Schindler. On March 18, 1903 he conducted the first driving tests of the vehicle he constructed. The presentation of the first automobile in Krakow is described in her diary by writer Antonina Domanska: "Well, we already have an automobile in Krakow - a machine moving by means of a motor! An achievement of the latest civilization, as the scholars now say about human stupidity. Everyone delighted, and such a Mycielski, such a Tomkowicz, and Kossak, and Wyczółkowski - when they saw it in the Market Square, they immediately felt right in the middle of Paris!!! How easy it is to go mad..." [quoted in: Andrzej Bogunia-Paczyński, "Cracovie Automobile. The beginnings of motoring in Cracow (1895-1918)", Cracow 1999, pp.11-12)]. The area where the building was designed is also of historical and symbolic value to the automobile industry, as in the past the Polmozbit plant - a well-known nationwide service and car dealer - was located here.
idea and detail
The building of the Automotive Museum, together with the footbridge, is an object that is not only intended to serve an exhibition function, but should also benefit pedestrian safety and improve public transportation. When creating the concept for the complex, the primary goal for me was to synchronize its form with its purpose. Since the building was to improve traffic flow while also being a museum, from the very beginning the concept was dominated by soft and dynamic lines, referring to modern automotive trends. A suspended promenade on an archway extending directly from the body of the building provides not only scenic value, but also contributes to safety in this busy area. The facility features typical museum spaces, but what is unique is that some of the exhibits will be viewable from the level of the promenade. The arch, which dominates the entire complex, is based on a truss structure that has been covered with concrete panels reinforced with fiberglass. The material flows seamlessly into the facade of the museum building, making the complex a well-composed whole. The promenade was suspended above the intersection thanks to the use of cable ties. The museum building itself is a post-and-beam structure with an outer baffle layer in the form of glazed curtain walls.
Grzegorz KULA
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