Wojciech Rzyczniak, Grzegorz Sygiet and Tytus Tarczyński from the Faculty of Architecture at the Silesian University of Technology also took part in the third edition of the international competition "Museum of Emotions" organized by the Buildner platform. Their pavilion design named „esc.” has an educational task—it raises visitors' awareness of the problem of siecioholism. Their work, which prompts viewers to be attentive, was shortlisted for the competition.
As part of the „Museum of Emotions” series of annual architectural competitions, participants were asked by the organizers to use architecture as a tool to evoke emotions, by adjusting scale, colors, light and materials. The goal was to design a museum consisting of two rooms representing opposite emotions—positive and negative. The biggest challenge was to present the concept solely through images, not using text.
The pavilion can stand in any city
© Wojciech Rzyczniak, Grzegorz Sygiet, Tytus Tarczyński
We wrote about the detailed guidelines, the composition of the jury and the results in the article Museum of Emotions in the Ruins of the Power Plant, about the project by Martyna Kramarz, which was shortlisted for the competition. On this list we can also see the work of students from the Silesian University of Technology: Wojciech Rzyczniak, Grzegorz Sygiet and Tytus Tarczyński, which they made under the direction of Dr. Jerzy Wojewódka.
The pavilion consists of three concrete blocks
© Wojciech Rzyczniak, Grzegorz Sygiet, Tytus Tarczyński
the problem of networkoholism
"Technology is the ability to arrange the world in such a way that we don't experience it"—these words of Swiss architect and writer Max Frisch, in our opinion, perfectly describe the reality around us. A reality that lacks sensitivity, subtlety. A reality in which our individualized qualities are quietly taken away from us and we are put in the role of a product at every turn. A reality in which we talk more to our phones than to people or ourselves. This is the result of booming innovations in technology. Once used for communication, phones have become handheld computers from which we are able to do everything. From accessing unlimited knowledge to entertainment. Thanks to them, we connect to the entire world and get inundated with an onslaught of information that we are unable to process. We follow the lives of media persons and are unaware that they only show their, often colored, successes. All this can cause us problems with concentration, self-acceptance and even depression. Unfortunately, social networking developers do not pay attention to this and create applications based on brain response studies. As a result, they create social networks that work to make us spend as much time as possible on them. Falling prey to one of the biggest problems of the 21st century ourselves, we entered the „Museum of Emotions” competition with a mission to create a dialogue with the viewer that would be therapeutic in its own way. As a team, it was crucial for us to make each other aware of when, how and why we are exposed to the so-called networkholism in order to start looking for an appropriate solution and make users physically aware of the problem," say the students of the Silesian University of Technology.
In the entrance block, users encounter screens, one by one the corridor leads to the main room
© Wojciech Rzyczniak, Grzegorz Sygiet, Tytus Tarczyński
a break from technology
The pavilion "esc." is formed by three concrete blocks divided into functions, and the whole building can stand in any urban location. The building is open to the surroundings, and its designers deliberately did not use any acoustic and material insulation.
Pavilion, cross-section
© Wojciech Rzyczniak, Grzegorz Sygiet, Tytus Tarczyński
The first block—the entrance, is a corridor filled with displays. The free-flowing composition of screens, the authors say, is meant to be an aesthetic incentive to enter the depths of the pavilion. The monitors can display any material that attracts visitors' attention, or provide an attractive art installation. The amount of stimuli is intended to replicate the daily use of a smartphone.
The path leads to the main part of the facility
© Wojciech Rzyczniak, Grzegorz Sygiet, Tytus Tarczyński
Directing their steps further, visitors find themselves in a dark corridor. Following the light blinking in the distance, they are faced with a choice of two paths.
The paths show that we have a choice in life. We are the ones in control, what we do, which is not necessarily obvious in a world where algorithms make decisions for us, the students add.
One by one, visitors encounter a space with mirrors, and then into the second block, which is the center of the pavilion. It houses an empty room, reminiscent of a movie theater, where, instead of a screen, one can observe the city.
The pavilion allows you to observe the city
© Wojciech Rzyczniak, Grzegorz Sygiet, Tytus Tarczyński
The user is put in the role of a spectator, in a kind of theater where he gains distance from the fast-paced life of the city. He is left with his thoughts and has time to catch his breath in this race. It is here that an inner transformation can take place," the authors explain the intention.
way back with an opening to the city
© Wojciech Rzyczniak, Grzegorz Sygiet, Tytus Tarczyński
The third block—the return road—is a neutral corridor that allows for the ordering of thoughts, enabling a calm return to reality.
