The Krakow Tenement House near Wawel

The revitalization of the historical tenement house at 10 Powiśle Street in Krakow, in the immediate vicinity of the Royal Castle, in an unique opportunity to introduce new quality of the Vistula waterfront in the center od the Old Town.

We decided to restore the orginal splendor and beautiful proportions of the designed tenement house, using design measures appropriate to the current times, the context of the place, and the achievements of modern technology. The revitalization involves restoration of the orginal brick and historical decorations and removal of the top floor, which was carelessly built-up in later years. Thanks to this the tenement house will regain its original proportions and character from 1900.

However, after restoring its orginal condition, the historical tenement house does not fit so well into the present-day frontage of Powiśle Street, Neighboring tenement houses overwhelm it and create unattractive disproportionate massive gable walls, which is why we propose an innovative structure.

Throught a creative interpretation of local historical patterns, the project of the Krakow Tenement House near Wawel was created.It has beed restored to its orginal beauty, details and proportions. This not only intrigues and evokes emotions, but above all will gain the social value of the museum facility by exposing the historic interiors of the ground floor so that they become, in a way, the property of every passer-by and participant in city life.

The roof of our structure becomes a usable terrace, another city lounge, a viewing point for tourists or a place to spend time outdoors. The architecture of the so-called fifth facade, i.e. the roof, has high aesthetical values and is consistent with the construction of the main structure.

Floor area: 1400 sqm

Construction technology: We use the most modern and enviromenmetally friendly technology - CLT glued timber construction, which will minimize the construction loads on the historical substance, as well as transfer a significant part of the work from the construction site to the factory where precise prefabricated elements will be produced.

New, modern forms emerge, which grows out of history and tradition. The division of the structure originates from the lower floors and the lines of the windows flow smoothly into the coffered wooden ceiling. Through a soft, slightly deviating line, which refers to the structures of Gothic and Krakow domes, we obtain a beautiful covering of the gable walls of neighboring tenement houses, while minimizing the scale and height of the building seen from the Powiśle Street. Moreover, the construction of our structure gains innovative, extraordinary dynamics. Observing this object from a perspective, the building has a distinctly Gothic character, with soaring lines, while from close up it resembles Renaissance arcades, even closer it turns into soft forms - reminiscence of Baroque ornaments. Thus, we obtained a new, dynamic form defined by the perception of the human eye in various ways, depending on the perspective.

Team: Bogusław Barnaś, Bartłomiej Mierczak, Monika Kalinowska, Aleksandra Gawron, Wojciech Buchta, Urszula Furmanik, Katarzyna Trzepałka, Magdalena Fuchs.