Contemporary Arts Museum Wroclaw

The converted building is the Nazi air raid shelter built in 1942. The reinforced concrete cylinder as one of few buildings survived the artillery attacks of 1945. For decades it was closed for public. The new museum program replaced cheap secondhand shops that had been existing there since 1990s. The claustrophobic interior has undergone critical renovation. The main goal of the project was to open interior by removing as many partition walls as possible and providing necessary functional divisions with mesh or glass. Thus new perspectives were open penetrating the depth of the building. The plaster finishing was removed, revealing the texture of reinforced concrete walls. New budget materials were exposed with their natural textures. Electricity and other installations were not covered providing flexible usage and service. The traces of saws and cuts used during construction were also exposed with their unique factures. The most important exterior element is glassed cafeteria following the shape of cylinder. The pavilion with surrounding terrace is accessible to public as a nonticketed area. Building size: 3400 sqm; size of the site: 4614 sqm.