Cracow, being one of the most interesting and culturally rich Polish cities, is also home to a famous contemporary art gallery “Bunkier Sztuki” (The Bunker of Arts). Recently, the Gallery has announced an international architectural competition aiming to find the best solution for its planned refurbishment and extension.

The concept assumes restoration of the building’s original form and elemination of all unnecessary additions. The new exhibition space has been placed underground, underneath the forefront of the existing Gallery. Unlike a superstructure (suggested in the competition brief) it would not affect the inegrity of the original building, at the same time bringing a whole new quality to the Gallery.

Cracow, being one of the most interesting and culturally rich Polish cities, is also home to a famous contemporary art gallery “Bunkier Sztuki” (The Bunker of Arts). Recently, the Gallery has announced an international architectural competition aiming to find the best solution for its planned refurbishment and extension.

The concept assumes restoration of the building’s original form and elemination of all unnecessary additions. The new exhibition space has been placed underground, underneath the forefront of the existing Gallery. Unlike a superstructure (suggested in the competition brief) it would not affect the inegrity of the original building, at the same time bringing a whole new quality to the Gallery.

The new exhibition space, juxtaposed with historical gallery, is an ultra-modern “machine” dediacted to presentation of art. Its form is completely subordinate to exhibition purposes. The use of mechanical elements – movable slabs and roof – enable huge variety of exhibition scenarios, impossible in a classical exhibition space. Once the roof is lifted, the new exhibition space also gets a direct connection to the street level, enabling interaction between the Gallery and the surroundings.