Reclaiming the Past
Re-use Competition
authors:
Julita Banaszak, Jakub Kruk, Jerzy Sroka
Reclaiming the past
Piscina Mirabilis is a place of history, as an ancient structure, it cannot be disturbed by interfering actions. Proposal orbits between the reference of the water connected to the primal function of the place and balance of gravitation and floating.
The interior and exterior are contrasted by a plain volume of outside structure. Uniform walls are an extension of the existing structure from the street and arcaded from the patio. Anyone can enter the yard without any ticket, to create a new bond with visitors and residents of the city or to simply enjoy the view on the lake from the highest point of the structure.
Piscina Mirabilis is a place that does not belong to the presence. Therefore proposal seeks to harmonize with the cistern while simultaneously preserving the current state of the structure. Its substance is associated with local materials, emphasizing the spirit of ancient building underground, that is a witness to history.
Journey underworld
New volume can find itself embedded within ruin walls allowing visitors to rediscover ancient Roman cistern. The journey begins on a suspended walkway cycling around the columns with paintings of Władysław Strzemiński hanging between them. This unusual way of exposition allows visitors to rethink the art of this artist which was brought to life from after-images. When the walkway ends, on the bottom of the cistern, the new world begins. There, the natural flood into the display space and one can create their picture with after-images.
The lightness of being
Extraneous forms buried in the ground covering the cistern, detach from its rational meaning. Reflecting light and gives the space an extraordinary feeling. Resembling air bubbles, transforming from uniform spheres into distorted forms, hitting the ceiling of the cistern as a water surface, and having its counterpart in the shape of holes on the surface
Competition poster
