They are true specialists in emotionally charged spaces. We will talk about how to face the often difficult historical narrative with Miroslaw Nizio, founder of Nizio Design International during the 10th edition of the Open Architecture Studio Festival!
Broadcast of the meetings will be available on our channels
The autumn edition of the Festival of Open Architectural Studios will begin in Silesia, at the headquarters of the TOPROJEKT studio(November 18 at 13.00), then we will move to Warsaw, where we will take a look at the offices of Nizio Design International(November 21 at 13.00) and Archigrest (November 22 at 13.00). Live broadcasts will be available on A&B's Facebook and YouTube!
The interior of the studio in Warsaw's Praga district
© Nizio Design International
Nizio Design International
November 21, 1 pm
Founded by Miroslaw Nizio in 2002, the studio specializes in designing the country's most important museums, historical displays, exhibitions and memorials. Today, after 22 years of activity, the Warsaw team of {tag:Studio} consists of 18 people, and the studio's headquarters are located at Inżynierska 3 in Warsaw's Praga Północ district, in a legendary complex of tenement houses that are symbols of artistic bohemia.
The headquarters of the studio at Inżynierska Street
© Nizio Design International
Their architectural portfolio includes such buildings as the Mausoleum of Martyrdom of Polish Villages in Michniów and the Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews during World War II in Markowa. Ulma Family in Markowa, the revitalization of the complex of the former "Julia" coal mine in Walbrzych, where the Science and Art Center was established, and the revitalization of the former synagogue in Chmielnik, where the "Świętokrzyski Sztetl" educational and museum center now operates, as well as the OKO Interactive Fairy Tale and Animation Center in Bielsko-Biała.
Mausoleum of Martyrdom of Polish Villages in Michniów
photo: Marcin Czechowicz © Nizio Design International
The studio also creates exhibition designs - for the exhibition at the Warsaw Uprising Museum, which was seen by 10 million people over 20 years, Miroslaw Nizio was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit, while for his contribution to the creation of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the designer received the Bronze Medal "Meritorious to Culture Gloria Artis."
Exhibition at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews POLIN
photo: M. Starowieska, D. Golik © Nizio Design International
What does it look like to work in an office in Warsaw's Praga district? You will have the opportunity to ask your questions on November 21, and in the meantime we invite you to a short conversation with Mirosław Nizio!
Ola Kloc: Where did the name of the studio come from?
Miroslaw Nizio: The member "Nizio" came from my last name, of course, and "Design International" comes from my international experience. I lived in New York for 13 years, where I studied and worked. I founded my own design firm there and won many awards and honors, including the Glenn Boyles Memorial Rendering And Design (1993), Educational Foundation for the Design Industries in Interior Design (1998). Nizio Design International carries out projects not only in Poland, but also outside our country (for example, the National Holodomor-Ludocide Museum in Kyiv).
Ola: The studio for me....
Miroslaw: It is a second home, a space that is incredibly comfortable and inspiring because of the context. Our office is located in a 19th century building that used to be a furniture warehouse. Now there are, in addition to ours, other art studios, as well as the Nizio Gallery, which, like Nizio Design International, I founded 22 years ago. The UTU Universum of Theater of the Mind, where the art of theater meets modern art education, was also recently established.
The spaces of the studio on Inżynierska Street
© Nizio Design International
Ola: What was your first joint project about?
Mirosław: Our first joint project was the permanent exhibition of the Warsaw Uprising Museum. It was the beginning of an extraordinary path of building a narrative on different levels, different investments and different challenges. Architecture, spaces and narrative exhibitions are at the core of Nizio Design International's philosophy.
Exhibition at the Warsaw Uprising Museum
© Nizio Design International
Ola: A dream project is....
Miroslaw: We don't have one dream project. We want to participate in projects that serve society, education and culture. Any project that is a strong foundation for creating reality gives us extraordinary satisfaction.
Ola: Our favorite project tool is....
Miroslaw: Because our office specializes in museums and memorials, the projects we most often deal with are strongly related to the theme of identity and history. The tool that is crucial for us in understanding and building narratives is content preparation. We always try to gain as much in-depth knowledge as possible and learn as much as possible about the context of the designed objects.
The second particularly important tool is sketching, tracing paper and pencil. I move very freely in this matter. It is at the level of the sketchbook and tracing paper that I build the form and transfer the idea and content from verbal language to visual language. In the first phase of creation I rely on traditional tools, only in subsequent stages is technology used.
OKO Interactive Fairy Tale and Animation Center in Bielsko-Biala
Photo: Marcin Czechowicz © Nizio Design International
Ola: Does the team have any fixed customs / rituals?
Miroslaw: Our tradition is to spend our break at the Nizio Gallery and UTU Universum Theatre of the Mind - spaces that are extremely inspiring and stimulate creativity. On a daily basis we have the opportunity to encounter art, concerts, theater.
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The Open Architecture Studio Festival is a companion event to the International Value Economy Congress Open Eyes Economy Summit (November 19-20).
Partners of the event are:
Patronage:
SARP Krakow Branch
