image © Jakub Certowicz

Fernando Menis, Tenerife architect, completed new cave-like building in the city of Torun, Poland. Menis explicitly discovers the new solidity with the combination of broken brick and concrete changing the appearance of interior space in between space and function.  The Jordanek plot is located between the Torún’s old town, protected by the UNESCO, and the new development area of the city. This is why the Municipality of Torún asked for a building which, inserted into a wider programme, could solve its planning by a fine integration of the cultural and natural landscape.

image courtesy of Menis Architects

The half of the plot is planned as a park since the nearness of the green area requires a big free space. On the other hand, the panoramical view from the river, quoted as the second “miracle” of architecture and landscape in Poland, must remain untouched therefore the height of the Music Hall must be as low as possible. Multifunctional Concert Hall “Jordanki” in Torun gives a solution for the fusion between old and new and that is achieved also through the materials which are going to be used for its construction.

image © Jakub Certowicz

For the interior, bricks are going to be used as a recall of the façades of the old town. For the exterior very clear, almost white concrete is going to be used and in some place it is “broken” by some cracks which reveal the interior coating.

image © Jakub Certowicz

The façade reinterprets the traditional handicraft of the bricks and establishes a parallel between the tectonics of the city and the strategic situation of the plot. The 2 colours -red and white – are also a way for outlining the relation between the traditional use of bricks and the technology and modernity of new urban developments.

image courtesy of Menis Architects

image © Jakub Certowicz

image © Jakub Certowicz

image © Jakub Certowicz

image courtesy of Menis Architects

image courtesy of Menis Architects

image courtesy of Menis Architects

image courtesy of Menis Architects

image courtesy of Menis Architects

Project Facts

Multifunctional Concert Hall “Jordanki” Awards: 2008 Competition_ 1st Prize 2010 Winner of Future Cultural Project at the World Architecture Festival (WAF)   

Technical Data: Architects: Fernando Menis Location: Torún. Poland 

Use: Cultural Structure: Reinforced concrete 

Materials: White concrete and red brick 

Client: Municipality of Torun 

Total built area: 21.837 m2 Budget: 51.025.731 euros 

Status: Competition 2008, Project 2011.

Construction: 2011-2015

> via Menis Architects