Karolina Indyk, a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at Wrocław University of Technology, won the Grand Prize in the international competition The Artistory organized by the UNI platform. The challenge was to design a coworking space for artists and creative people. Polka's award-winning project is a temporary art club built from scaffolding, an attempt to answer the question of who an artist is, and what a universal space for creative work should look like.
The task of The Artistory competition was to create a building - an art club, where representatives of various fields of art could meet, create and present their works. The architecture was to draw inspiration from the world of art, artists and their lifestyles, and the form of the building was to constantly evolve and change over time. The designers were also to take into account several art groups working in the facility at the same time and allow them to collaborate.
The building was to be built in Vaujours, Paris
© Karolina Indyk
The building was to be constructed in Vaujours, Paris, eighteen kilometers from the historic center of the metropolis. Before the industrial revolution began, Vaujours was famous for its vineyards and wine production, but unfortunately these traditions were abandoned in favor of gypsum production. The project site spans between dense forest to the south and west, the Stade de Jules Ferry sports ground to the east and is adjacent to the N3 Boulevard de l'Europe national road to the north. Although the plot's area is more than 21,000 square meters, the contestants were only allowed to develop ten percent of this area, or about 2,220 square meters, and the maximum height of the building could not exceed 15 meters.
The author created a concept for a temporary building constructed with scaffolding
© Karolina Indyk
Pole with the Grand Prize!
The works submitted to the competition from all over the world were evaluated by a two-person jury consisting of: Nathalie Eldan (Atelier NEA, Paris) and Yann Follain (WY-TO, Singapore / Paris). They awarded the Grand Prize, second place, a special prize and eight honorable mentions. The winner was a project with the same name as the competition - The Artistory by Karolina Indyk, a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at Wrocław University of Technology. Her work was at the same time a master's degree under the direction of Dr. Tomasz Myczkowski.
My project seeks to answer the question of who the artist is and what a universal space should look like in which he can fully devote himself to his work. Based on the history of art and the biographies of representatives of various fields of art, I put forward the thesis that artists are nomads who have always traveled wherever they could get a commission or had the opportunity to develop. Their working conditions varied from modest rooms in the attics of tenement houses to elaborate studios. The comparison of an artist's life to constant wandering and change had the greatest influence on the idea of the project - I created the concept of a temporary building, where the user will decide for himself how much work space he needs, the author explains.
The architect's project began with the creation of a model
© Karolina Indyk
search for form
The author's search for form began with the creation of a model, and since Vaujours was once famous for its wines, the architect thought of the plot as a vast vineyard, with a distinctive support structure on which the vines climb. On a structural grid with a module of 3×3 meters, she created a composition of pins with irregular outlines, which she then began to hammer into the cardboard, making the whole thing alternately fall and float in space. Kamila wanted an ephemeral form, so she decided to propose a structure made of scaffolding.
Scaffolding is a system that we encounter every day in urban space, but which is not considered beautiful or even interesting. Following in the footsteps of Pop art, where ordinary objects rose to the status of art, the scaffolding in the Artistory project becomes a powerful sculpture, a spatial stretcher on which stretched membranes inspired by a painting canvas will be a refuge for artists, the architect adds.
The structure from the scaffolding is the frame that houses the work spaces
© Karolina Indyk
art club - a temporary space
The ephemeral structure made of scaffolding is a frame into which work spaces have been inscribed, divided into two groups: a permanent part located in the center of the plot, and a variable part, consisting of three modules of artists' studios. The element that binds them all together is a system of ramps and terraces, intersecting the spatial form with scaffolding, so that the art club is suspended above the ground.
projection of The Artistory project
© Karolina Indyk
The heart of the entire establishment is the terrace, around which are located three large studios and an art club with changing rooms, sanitary facilities, a dining room with a kitchenette and a work area for artists creating virtual art. The terrace itself is a multipurpose space, and can be an additional workshop area, a venue for art exhibitions or a summer cinema.
Art studios are three types of modules
© Karolina Indyk
mobile studios
Mobile art studios are three types of modules with dimensions of 3×3, 3×6 and 6×6 m, hidden under membranes, the number of which can change, depending on the number of users. In addition, the author presented the possibility of grouping them together, so artists can divide the creative process into stages. The scaffolding and membranes symbolically refer to the canvas and stretcher. With the use of PVC membranes, the interiors of the studios are filled with diffused light. The spaces are simple and minimalist, and each artist can customize them according to their own preferences.
The design can resemble a contemporary art installation or land art
© Karolina Indyk
object like an art installation
Wanting to respond to the competition task, I created a temporary object, tailored to the current needs of artists, where they can devote themselves to art created both traditionally and virtually. Each user observing this structure will see something different, an integrated circuit, a spider web, a point cloud or a contemporary art installation. The presentation of the project, like an impressionist painting, captures a specific moment of the functioning of the asylum, which can evolve, shrink or expand at any time, constantly adapting to the number of users and created art," Karolina Indyk concludes.
