The new Academy building is placed in such a way that, although the existing buildings are demolished, most of the trees are retained, above all those that are under a nature preservation order. The traffic connection is created by extending Skrzatów Straße and the footpath accompanying the carriageway that is located at the existing approach road in the east.
Cracow Music Academy
A music park in Cracow, a “Cracow Hill“ of music; beautiful, unique, open to the panorama of the city and rich in music
Year
2017
Venue
Krakau
State
Competition
Category
Education
Size
23.619 m²
Year |
Venue |
State |
Category |
Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 |
Krakau |
Competition |
Education |
23.619 m² |
Year
2017
Venue
Krakau
State
Competition
Category
Education
Size
23.619 m²
On one side is the proximity to the centre of Cracow and the River Vistula. On the other the railway line with the military compound behind it. This site calls for an urban design intervention. We positioned the Music Academy in such a way that it closes off the park and therefore also the railway embankment while also hiding the inaccessible site behind it. The compact building covers the carpark and throws an acoustic shadow across the public green space.
The routes in the park are intended not only to lead to the Academy building but also to engage in a dialogue with the building’s facade and with the planned Philharmonic, in this way it would become a further Cracow Hill. Open for the panorama of the city and rich in music which escapes from the interior of the building – a hill of music.
The loud noises from the surroundings that cannot be controlled are handled acoustically by means of the consistent structure of the core areas – concert halls, rehearsal and organ rooms. On the eastern and southern side, we suggest a buffer made up of the staircases, the toilets and the spaces used by individuals.
Public and semi-public areas such as the foyer, the library, the café, and the service point for student open towards the park. The concert hall with the entrance and foyer are in the northern part of the building, which is furthest away from the railway line.
A concert hall imagined as a “vineyard”
A modern concert hall conceived as a vineyard and clad with timelessly beautiful natural oak. Divided up into separate bays, the auditorium forms a frame for the stage. The anthracite-coloured bays are separated by partitions that are connected to the wall panels. The form of the panels relates to the geometry of the building, they are “woven” together in that they form a permanent composition similar to the building facade and the structure of the park routes. The lighting of the hall underlines this geometry and in an entirely natural way exploits the colour of the wood.
The Music Academy contains two functional areas: the teaching area and the concert area. The relationship between these two areas is decisive for the atmosphere and the way in which the building functions. We propose a united building volume in which these two areas can function independently of each other but also together. Two independent entrances whose geometry is such that it is perceived differently with the eyes of visitor or the eyes of a staff member.
The areas touch each other but are separated by their functions. The connection and separation of functions are, in a certain sense, natural and allow the building to be used comprehensively in different configurations: an external concert with external musicians or a public concert with musicians.
Architecture
Pichler & Traupmann Architekten ZT GmbH
Design team
Bartosz Lewandowski (Team lead)
Christoph Degendorfer
Klemens Gabriel
Peter Grandits
Wolfgang Windt
Acoustics
Müller-BBM GmbH, Deutschland
MEP engineering
Gawaplan Haustechnische Anlagen GesmbH, Vienna
Hard facts
Start of planning: 2016
Usable floor area: 18.962 m²
Gross floor area: 23.619 m²
Model
Harald Schmidt, Vienna
Renderings
Riviera | Moretti, Vienna (outdoor)
Patricia Bagienski, Vienna (indoor)