The Think out of the box project by architecture students of Poznan University of Technology: Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska and Michalina Linkowska were selected from 112 works from around the world and received an honorable mention in the Sensory Museum Design competition. The task was to create a sensory museum affecting the senses. The Polish woman's proposal is a polycarbonate building, housing numerous cubicles with sensory displays.
Sensory Museum Design is an international architectural competition organized by the Artuminate | Archiol platform. Its goal was to design a sensory museum, incorporating spaces that have a positive impact on their audience. As the organizers wrote - architecture is best explored through the senses, for this competition aimed to learn about its impact on human senses. They also asked the question, how can sensory architecture positively affect the human psyche? Participants were not restricted in their choice of location and size of the museum project.
The Think out of the box project received an honorable mention
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
honorable mention for polish students
112 works from all over the world were submitted to the competition, judged by a two-person jury consisting of: Lawrence Daykin (designer), Andreea Felciuc (architect). The jury decided to award three grand prizes and three honorable mentions. Among the honorable mentions was the Think out of the box proposal by Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska and Michalina Linkowska. The project was carried out as part of an exercise class taught by Piotr Bartosik at the Faculty of Architecture at Poznan University of Technology. The competition website also published the boards of the ten shortlisted works.
The authors chose Poznań as the location of the museum
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
think outside the box
In the Think out of the box project, the authors refer to an unconventional approach to the senses and the way they are used. They chose Poznań as the location of the museum - the impact of architecture on the senses begins in the urban context of Marcinkowski Avenue and Liberty Square.
When entering a particular building, our sensations crystallize. The designed object is intended to draw the attention of the viewer to this, by evoking sensations to which we are not accustomed. The location of the museum, according to the competition guidelines, was arbitrary. We decided that the best place for such an unobvious project would be Poznań - the city where we live and which we know best. The plot of land we chose was proposed during a college exercise. It is unique because of the dense, historic urban buildings surrounding it. There are many important buildings, symbolic sculptures, crystallizing and dominant urban elements nearby," the architects explain.
The proposed museum is a polycarbonate structure with boxes inside
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
boxes within a box
As the authors say, the form of the museum can be interpreted as a polycarbonate box, which is the outer shell for the boxes suspended in the space. The aforementioned box resembles a typical tenement house in shape, with proportions referring to the neighboring buildings. The facade, on the other hand, matches the modern façade of the new part of the Raczynski Library.
projection of the second floor of the museum
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
The proposed building consists of several, functionally divided parts. The open atrium, is on each floor surrounded by a gallery, which allows access to individual boxes. The boxes, which look identical from the outside, hide the sensory exposition. In addition, the museum has a catering and cafe area on the first floor, workshop space and sanitary, office and business facilities. Provision is also made for underground parking.
workshop space
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
a different look at the space
Visitors entering the museum enter the atrium, which is, according to the authors, an outdoor space located inside the building.
People are used to observing interiors from the inside, we don't know what our room or kitchen looks like from the outside - the interior in many cases is the only space of perception. The designed atrium is a "negative space" for this phenomenon. Sensory boxes, the value of which is hidden inside, can be viewed from almost any angle. The space here is perceived through and through. The visitor interprets the environment without knowing what is inside the individual cubes. This creates feelings such as curiosity, surprise, perhaps even fear of the seemingly unstable, heavy space, the authors say.
Each box hides a different space to explore and experience
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
surprise your senses
Each designed box is intended to evoke different sensations related to the different senses. They can combine, exclude or complement each other. It is up to the user to decide which sense they want to focus on.
In the boxes presented, one can hear the sounds of the city or enter a completely soundproof room. Notice the contrasts - see the beauty of light coming into a perforated box or enter one where light is completely absorbed. Experience a space where water flows down the walls. In the museum, you can again be a child jumping into a pool full of soft balls, climbing the walls or catching your balance on a balance beam. The students also alluded to nature - visitors can feel like they are in the jungle, squeezing through tropical plants and looking for star constellations in a galactic box.
The cafe is located on the first floor
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
sensory museum in Poznan
The authors also designed lecture halls that can accommodate more than a hundred people. They proposed the necessary office and storage rooms. Importantly, the entire building is adapted to serve people with disabilities through the use of passenger lifts and ergonomic bathrooms. On the lowest floor is a single-level underground parking garage, served by a car elevator. The building has two fire staircases, which helps in efficient evacuation.
first floor plan
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
The museum was designed according to the assumptions, and the design process was rich in valuable reflections on how to perceive space, and thus architecture, using such a powerful tool as the senses, the students conclude.
Read also about the Circadian Home project, also by Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska and Michalina Linkowska, for which they received first prize and the BB Student Award in the "MICROHOME 2021 - Small living, huge impact!" competition.
