The project of the NOW Art Center aims to enrich the program of art and cultural education in Warsaw. It is a project by Gabriela Brzozowska, executed at the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw University of Technology, under the direction of Dr. Eng. arch. Marcin Goncikowski.
Student design of the NOW Art Center by Gabriela Brzozowska.
© Gabriela Brzozowska
location and awareness of contexts
The NOW Art Center is to be located, according to the project, in Warsaw's Praga district, in the area of the PGE National Stadium's embankment, at the intersection of Jana Zamoyskiego and Zieleniecka streets. An important aspect of the project is that it takes into account the zoning plan, the location of public transportation stops, spatial dominants and public squares, as well as, ideologically, the existence of numerous cultural institutions in Warsaw. For this reason, the NOW Art Center focuses its program on the period of modernism and what came before and after it. Awareness of the space surrounding the architectural establishment makes it another element of a living city. It is not just a closed organism isolated from the place where it is supposed to be.
Student project of the NOW Art Center by Gabriela Brzozowska.
© Gabriela Brzozowska
past, now, then - three buildings
The premise is formed by a group of three buildings: B0, which is to house everything related to pre-modernism in 20th century art; B1, where the present(NOW) is to resound with an exhibition hall; and the last building B2 - centered around the future, where the focal point is an auditorium with a mediatheque and reading room. The forms of the buildings express a nod to 20th century art. Real and physical objects are taken into account in the design, but also the empty space between them. It is treated with the same care and attention.
Student project of the NOW Art Center by Gabriela Brzozowska.
© Gabriela Brzozowska
Inspired by modern London
The exhibition hall in the B1 building uses the form of the white cube gallery, which has been popular since the last century, to provide a modern and neutral room designed to make the objects on display attract the most attention. It references London's Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern Gallery.
Student project of the NOW Art Center by Gabriela Brzozowska.
© Gabriela Brzozowska
educational and artistic functions
The NOW Art Center is a project that responds to the various needs of visitors. This is because the center is to include not only exhibition halls, a media room, a reading room and an auditorium with a cinema function, but also an information room where a deeper understanding of modern art activities and movements is possible. Other spaces include art studios and those for collaborative work, modeling rooms, and a café and restaurant with a vantage point. Solutions focused on learning about, experiencing and understanding modern art make the educational aspect entirely fulfilled. The rooms for creation, in turn, encourage artistic activities, have the potential to increase activities of a creative nature, and play an important social role.
