From imagination to space. Architecture and museum exhibition as a dialogue and interaction

Mirosław Nizio

doi:10.37190/arc220211

Abstract

The article presents the design philosophy of Mirosław Nizio, architect and sculptor, creator of many realised and conceptual museum projects, founder and owner of the Nizio Design International studio. The author of the paper pays particular attention to the idea of dialogue, to which he has subordinated all his projects, and which he understands in a multifaceted way as: a personal dialogue with the audience through architecture, a discussion between architecture and landscape, as well as an inner monologue touching on his personal feelings and experiences. The text presents Nizio Design International’s best-known projects, such as the Mausoleum of the Martyrdom of Polish Villages in Michniów, The Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II in Markowa or The Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko Museum in Okopy.

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2022

2(70)

Mirosław Nizio*

From imagination to space.

Architecture and museum exhibition as a dialogue and interaction

Introduction

It is not that I do something haphazardly, rather I think

about who will view our projects and try to understand

how they might perceive them. The form, shape, materi-

al are so sensual that it seems they will be understood

by everyone [1]. These words are kind of a key to un-

derstanding the design philosophy reected in the major

completed projects as well as competition and conceptual

proposals created by the team of the studio I run. I began

to build the foundations of the Nizio Design Internation-

al studio, established in 2002 in Warsaw’s Praga-Północ

district, more than a decade earlier – during my studies at

the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and at New York’s

Fashion Institute of Technology majoring in the interior

design. It was in New York that I founded my rst design

rm at the turn of 1989 and 1990.

In my view, architecture has a complex character, real

and abstract at the same time, which not only expresses

itself through form, light, colour, body, structure, and ma-

terial texture, but also conveys impressions and awakens

emotions, reaches to the depths of the soul and experience

– both of the creator and the viewer. Architecture is a me-

dium through which the architect creates their environment

and expresses their professional credo, knowledge and

inspiration, while presenting their personal attitude to the

world. Through architectural material, a more abstract form

of dialogue is also carried out – with the present, past and

future, with ancient and modern works, as well as with na-

ture and with matter-building material [2, p. 18]. The quin-

tessence of my view of architecture was aptly presented

by Monika Komorowska, who wrote: Architecture of Nizio

Design International can be viewed as a search for integri-

ty. It originates from the sculptural attitude towards reality,

openness in the process of architectural creation and dia-

logue with the place as well as, what is of great importance,

with its viewers. […] Discussion is a starting point for

the multi-directional process of design thinking to which

artists, philosophers, publicists and curators are invited.

Here, architecture constitutes the manner of expression

which creates a many-layered meaning, the way of com-

munication with the modern world [3, p. 14]. I also particu-

larly emphasize the craft and artisanal connotations of my

own design and implementation process, as pointed out by

the author of the article Architecture between dimensions:

Interior and building designs highlight the understanding

of the construction process, the designers’ interest in it, as

the nal step of arriving at the nal form of the design. De-

sign understood not only as a path of thought, but also as

a meticulous, artisanal process, beginning in the sketch, in

the mock-up, in the solution of the detail, leading through

the selection of materials to the execution [3, p. 20].

This article is an attempt to introduce readers to the

ideas behind the museum designs that were created at the

Nizio Design International studio. The most important of

these is the idea of a dialogue understood as a conversation

through architecture with its audience, with the land scape,

and with one’s own feelings and experiences. In each mu-

seum concept, I try to make the form of the building, its

message, as well as the scenographies of the exhi bitions

themselves a means of expression.

* Nizio Design International, Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: studio@

nizio.com.pl

DOI: 10.37190/arc220211

Published in open access. CC BY NC ND license

Design Philosophy

116 Mirosław Nizio

Philosophy

In the interview with the “Architektura i Biznes” [Ar -

chi tecture and Business] website, quoted in the article’s

in troduction, I formulated some key principles for me

re gard ing the process of creating museum facilities ded-

icated to important historical events and the responsibil-

ity in volved. The designs (by Nizio Design International

– editor’s note) are dicult because they involve dierent

history and stories, sometimes tragic, traumatic ones. The

responsibility of our studio and mine personally is that

we have to convey the facts, team up to ensure the his-

torical accuracy of a given narrative. Building anything

in the dimension of identity, history must be preceded by

a thorough analysis of factual materials, preparation at

the curatorial level, verication and conrmation of in-

dividual threads in close cooperation with historians. Of

course, in the case of core exhibitions, curators and exhi-

bition experts have a special role. As a designer, I would

not be able to endorse the factual and historical threads

without having the background, the relevant knowledge to

do so. This is a dicult and responsible task – just as an

architect is responsible for facilities that have a function

and must meet certain criteria and feature certain qual-

ities [1]. I am close to the philosophy of Peter Zumthor

who believed that The roots of our understanding of ar-

chitecture lie in our childhood, in our youth; they lie in

our biography [2, p. 57]. The basis of creativity for me is

knowledge, sensitivity and personal experience. The ef-

fects of my work, on the other hand, are the result of spe-

cic sensations, growing up in a specic time and place.

In turn, the signpost on the creative path is the pursuit of

the universal message of the work which is expressed in

using forms, associations, quotations, symbols and emo-

tions that are understandable to the general public, mark-

ing social, cultural or national identity. On the other hand,

individualism that gives a work of architecture a unique

character is important in creative work, causing the object

to convey revealing, inspiring things in new, unexpected

and non-obvious ways.

When creating museum designs and related narratives,

both architectural and exhibition ones, I use an elaborate

authorial language that […] has its own syntax, that at

all times is closely related to the structure of a place [3,

p. 21]. Close contact with the space and its in-depth anal-

ysis, attentiveness in view is the starting point for the de-

velopment of the form. As a former student of sculpture,

I look at space both from the perspective of an architect

and from that of a visual artist. Particularly close to me is

the sculpture of Eduardo Chillida and Richard Serra, who

built their large-scale, symbolic works in close union with

nature and in relation to it and the audience [4], [5]. I have

repeatedly pointed out that the path to the development

of the form is a thorough, multi-stage process of studying

vectors, relationships and connections of history, the fate

of the people associated with it, the structure of the land-

scape, the materials that make up the local cultural land-

scape. As Komorowska noted, […] designs of the atelier

embrace several ones which strongly show the genius loci.

Those are the designs in which the designer’s assumption

is expressed in the entire development development of the

interior and exterior of the building in a coherent message

which gets through to the user on dierent levels: from the

exterior, and relations with the landscape, to the details of

exhibition solutions. […] The performed objects, analysed

on drawings and mock-ups, allow us to hear people, and

feel their experiences [3, p. 21]. The buildings I have de-

veloped are sculptural-architectural structures that belong

to the landscape and fate of a particular place, becoming

its symbol and interpretation.

Mausoleum of the Martyrdom

of Polish Villages in Michniów,

project completed: 2021

Analysis, gradual formation of the body, study of the

context sometimes bring surprising solutions. Such was

the case with the design of the Mausoleum of Martyr-

dom of Polish Villages in Michniów [Mauzoleum Marty-

rologii Wsi Polskich w Michniowie], which won numerous

awards, including: the Internet Users’ Award in the jubilee

edition of the POLITYKA Architectural Award com-

petition, Property Design Award 2022 in the public facility

category, or Grand Prize in the Chinese YUANYE Awards

competition.

In the case of the sculptural, segmented body of the

Mausoleum, not all of its structure immediately appears

to the eyes of the viewer. At the point where visitors enter

the Mausoleum, an interaction begins that takes place on

many meaningful and sensual levels, between the people

(the author, the viewers, the protagonists or heroes of the

commemorated events), the site and its history, and na-

ture. Visitors initially fail to notice the rifts in the structure

of the building, the decay of the body and the degradation

of the architecture (Fig. 1). Yet the decomposition of the

building dovetails with the degradation of the world, as

discussed in the narrative of the core exhibition. The view-

ers, with the help of their own sensitivity and imagination,

come to understand this idea. The building of the Mau-

soleum of Martyrdom of Polish Villages in Michniów is

a sculptural architecture, an expression of thinking about

the object as a symbolic form existing in a specic time,

natural conditions, with the wealth of a specic story. It

is a memorial the body and matter of which reect the

process of destruction, referring to the pacication of the

village of Michniów by the Nazis in 1943. The body re-

sembles a row of village cottages lined up one behind the

other, but their form is unsettling. It is subject to disin-

tegration, as after a major re or earthquake. In the suc-

cessive shattered bodies of the building, gaps and rips are

formed through which light enters the interior (Fig. 2).

The body consists of 11 segments. The rst ones have

a solid structure, the next six give the impression of be-

ing consumed with re, falling apart. The cool and ascetic

structure of the concrete, which bears the imprint of the

wood, is broken and chiselled in a disturbing way – this

procedure captures the drama of the tragic war events.

Throughout the composition, the handling of light and the

development of detail are important, including the use of

cubic, irregular shapes in the design of the displays – this

From imagination to space. Architecture and museum exhibition as a dialogue and interaction 117

Fig. 1. Mausoleum of the Martyrdom of Polish Villages in Michniów:

a) bird’s eye view of the building and sketch of the side elevation with cross-section through the ground (photo by M. Czechowicz),

b) sketch of the mausoleum (drawing by M. Nizio)

Il. 1. Mauzoleum Martyrologii Wsi Polskich w Michniowie:

a) widok budynku z lotu ptaka i szkic elewacji bocznej z przekrojem przez teren (fot. M. Czechowicz),

b) szkic założenia (rys. M. Nizio)

Fig. 2. Mausoleum of the Martyrdom of Polish Villages in Michniów:

a) sketch of the interior (drawing by M. Nizio), b) part of the exhibition (photo by M. Czechowicz)

Il. 2. Mauzoleum Martyrologii Wsi Polskich w Michniowie:

a) szkic wnętrza (rys. M. Nizio), b) fragment ekspozycji (fot. M. Czechowicz)

a b

form is a reference to the destroyed village and the chim-

neys of burned-out houses. The choice of materials in the

exhibition was also important: the smell of black steel and

burnt, blackened wood and the sight of its texture imprint-

ed in concrete interact with the senses. All of these ele-

ments – both contained in the architecture and the museum

narrative – are components of the dialogue that emerges

between the designer, the viewer and the environment.

118 Mirosław Nizio

The National Museum of

the Holodomor-Genocide in Kyiv,

design: 2018

The National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide

in Kyiv [Narodowe Muzeum Hołodomoru-Ludobójstwa

w Ki jowie] is a special project that we have been working

on since 2018. The works on the construction of the build-

ing and the conceptual design of the core exhibition were

halted by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in February

2022. The arrangement of the exhibition was developed

by the Nizio Design International studio team with the

co-authorship of Haley Sharpe Design Ltd. The architec-

tural design of the building of the National Museum of the

Holodomor-Genocide was prepared by the Ukrainian stu-

dio Project Systems LTD with the co-authorship of Nizio

Design International. Total usable area of the Museum is

almost 14,000 m

, while the exhibition area will occupy

over 3,500 m

The architecture and the core exhibition commemo-

rate the victims of the Holodomor, the man-made famine

caused by the Soviet authorities in Ukraine in 1932–1933

that killed several million lives. Blended into the tectonics

of the Dnieper River slope, the building refers in its form

and in the texture of the materials used to the symbol-

ism of the Ukrainian land – the source of food and life on

the one hand, and the eternal resting place of millions of

Ukrainians on the other. The dual symbolism of Ukrainian

land and soil – fertile, but also hiding the graves of Ho-

lodomor victims – is a leitmotif that appears throughout

the artistic conception of the building and the exhibition

[6]. An important procedure in shaping the body of the

museum was the creation of a clear break and fracture in

the roof of the building which expresses the light shed on

the truth about Soviet crimes (Fig. 3a). An important ele-

ment of the design is a monumental corridor bringing vis-

itors inside the building, deep into the earth, where it will

be possible to observe and feel the structure of Ukrainian

black soil reected in the Museum’s façade (Fig. 3b). The

building […] should blend into the ground, it should be

hidden in a sense. Hidden as the subject of the Holodomor

– the Great Famine – was hidden for decades, as it was

forbidden to talk about [7].

References to nature and the use of vegetation motifs

in the design served to emphasize the museum’s message

– […] the blocks of the museum will be covered with faded

grass. The truth about the Great Famine was supposed

to overgrow, it was supposed to disappear. It has not dis-

appeared. Our goal is for it to be shared and disseminat-

ed in a dignied manner [7]. From the very beginning of

the building’s design process, the visual and scenography

concept for the exhibition space was born along with the

architectural solutions in mind. In the end, it was cut by

walls with an aggressive wedge-shaped form, which rep-

resented the mechanism of the Soviet regime. My idea is

to build this narrative on contrasts: light and darkness,

truth and falsehood, and the clash of dierent architectur-

al and scenography forms [6].

The Ulma Family Museum of

Poles Saving Jews in World War II in Markowa,

project completed: 2016

The Museum in Markowa [Muzeum Polaków Ratują-

cych Żydów podczas II wojny światowej im. Rodziny Ul -

mów w Markowej] commemorates Poles who risked their

own

lives to save the Jews during World War II. The most

signicant motif in this design seems to be the diagonal

shape of the building’s body (Fig. 4). Its ascetic dyna-

mism by its very form introduces a mood of anxiety, and

is a symbol of the destruction of a peaceful life, the happy

home of a rural family – the Ulma couple, who were killed

for making a heroic eort to help their Jewish neighbours.

An important role in formulating the nal shape and mean-

ing of the design is played by the use of corroded steel on

the walls of the building which evokes the horror of the

war years (Fig. 5a). Playing with light is also important:

the interior of the museum is in semi-darkness, diused

by the glow emanating from the heart of the building – the

symbolic “home of the Ulma family”, the embodiment of

Fig. 3. The National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide in Kyiv:

a), b) visualisations of the project (source: Nizio Design International, press materials)

Il. 3. Narodowe Muzeum Hołodomoru-Ludobójstwa w Kijowie:

a), b) wizualizacje projektu (źródło: materiały prasowe Nizio Design International)

a b

From imagination to space. Architecture and museum exhibition as a dialogue and interaction 119

Fig. 5. The Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II in Markowa:

a) front view, b) part of the exhibition (photo by L. Kwartowicz)

Il. 5. Muzeum Polaków Ratujących Żydów podczas II wojny światowej im. Rodziny Ulmów w Markowej:

a) widok od strony frontowej, b) fragment ekspozycji (fot. L. Kwartowicz)

Fig. 4. The Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II in Markowa – view from the east

(photo by L. Kwartowicz)

Il. 4. Muzeum Polaków Ratujących Żydów podczas II wojny światowej im. Rodziny Ulmów w Markowej – widok od strony wschodniej

(fot. L. Kwartowicz)

a b

goodness, hope and peaceful life (Fig. 5b). In Markowa,

Nizio Design International’s architects themselves pre-

sented their own design concept to its residents. They ex-

plained the genesis of the form, a house with an archetyp-

al façade giving the feeling of safety that tappers o like

a stiletto provoking the anxiety and emotions felt by the

Poles hiding Jews. The architects showed in what way the

building was placed in context, in the so called “remem-

brance wood”, on a square which will be lightened with

rainbow-hued bricks bearing the names of the Poles sav-

ing Jew. The architects explained the assumptions of the

exhibition and its poetic nature with the use of black and

white photographs that gradually fade telling the story of

those who died [3, p. 16].

120 Mirosław Nizio

Gross-Rosen “Stone Hell” in Rogoźnica

project: 2012

The commemorative monument “Stone Hell” was de-

signed as a monumental architectural and spatial instal-

lation that will use the universal language of art and the

context of the site to tell the story of a tragic chapter in

the history of 20

-century Europe. In the “Stone Hell”

design, a commemoration of prisoners who perished in

the Nazi Gross-Rosen camp, the dominant means of ex-

pression is the disturbing, sculptural juxtaposition of the

stone inner walls of the former quarry with the creator’s

dramatic gesture of partitioning the historic space with

a giant steel wall (Fig. 6a, b). The “Stone Hell” uses the

symbols of the granite extracted from the stone pit which,

appearing in the crypt, in the for of ash, brings memories

of those who were “destroyed” there just like those gran-

ite blocks [3, p. 20].

The Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko

Museum in Okopy,

project: 2019

Of course, architecture is one thing, it is extremely im-

portant and constitutive of the Museum, but the place for

such a literal exploration of Father Jerzy’s story will be

the core exhibition. Exploring his life, going through the

exhibition, we can return to the building body and archi-

tecture, and perhaps understand more maturely why it is

the way it is. And that, I feel, is beautiful [1]. The design

of the museum was created in 2019, and our goal was to

nd a simple and expressive form of commemorating

the priest-martyr of the communist system. The key to

working out the idea of the architecture and core exhi-

bition at the Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko Museum

[Muzeum Bł. Ks. Jerzego Popiełuszki w Okopach] are the

many references to the rural landscape of Podlasie, full

of old churches and wayside shrines. It is to these that

the central element of the museum, a gable roof rising out

of the ground that is the culmination of a memorial site

hidden underground, makes intuitive and symbolic ref-

erence (Fig. 7a, b). The façade, constructed of concrete

blocks, features clearances that can be associated with

the symbol of the cross, but also with the openings be-

tween the logs of the wood of a country cottage. With the

aforementioned openings, the building will give the im-

pression of a lantern, illuminating the neighbourhood with

bright light coming from within it. Around the centrally

designed Place of Recollection an exhibition was placed,

the composition of which refers to the imagery of the lives

of saints, showing the fate of Father Jerzy in the context

of the three decisive moments of his life: baptism, priest-

hood and martyrdom. From the riverside escarpment, the

premise will be fenced o with an openwork wall made

of concrete blocks. Water will ow down its walls, refer-

ring to the universal symbolism of life and washing the

sins away, but also evoking a specic association with

the place of Father Jerzy’s death, the dam in Włocławek

(Fig. 8).

The project was inspired by wooden and stone way-

side shrines, still common around Podlasie and Mazowsze

Wschodnie (Eastern Mazovia). Associations with church-

es – Gothic, with attics, with concaves, stimulating and

facilitating interaction with visitors – were also import-

ant for the composition of the block. In addition, […]

the facility will be made of aggregate of local stones, not

with materials brought from other regions, but the ones

sourced just from this place. These aggregates will be used

to create 80 × 40 centimetre blocks, the main building

and construction material for the entire premise. Thanks

to them, the block in the external part will be slightly

moved, some aws, cuts, clearances will be noticeable,

intended to symbolically reect the tragic history of Fa-

ther Jerzy. Thus, the building itself will already begin to

Fig. 6. Gross-Rosen “Stone Hell” in Rogoźnica:

a) sketch, b) visualisation of the project (source: Nizio Design International)

Il. 6. Gross-Rosen “Kamienne Piekło” w Rogoźnicy:

a) szkic, b) wizualizacja projektu (źródło: Nizio Design International)

a b

From imagination to space. Architecture and museum exhibition as a dialogue and interaction 121

“speak”, tell a little about the story [1]. The concept of

the museum was three years in the making, and the design

process itself was preceded by discussions, thoughts and

sketching. The design evolved, so that it matured not only

in the imagination of Father Popiełuszko’s family and

those involved in the construction of the monument, but

also in mine.

The Warsaw Rising Museum

– concept for the expansion and modernisation,

project: 2018

The concept for the expansion and modernization of the

Warsaw Rising Museum [Muzeum Powstania Warszaw-

skiego] was selected through a competition organized by

Fig. 7. The Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko Museum in Okopy:

a) visualisation of the interior, b) cross-section of the building (source: Nizio Design International)

Il. 7. Muzeum Bł. Ks. Jerzego Popiełuszki w Okopach:

a) wizualizacja wnętrza, b) przekrój poprzeczny budynku (źródło: Nizio Design International)

Fig. 8. The Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko Museum in Okopy, visualisation of the project (source: Nizio Design International)

Il. 8. Muzeum Bł. Ks. Jerzego Popiełuszki w Okopach, wizualizacja projektu (źródło: Nizio Design International)

122 Mirosław Nizio

the investor and the Warsaw branch of the Association of

Polish Architects. According to the jury of the competi-

tion, the concept prepared by our studio […] is character-

ized by compositional coherence and scale adapted to the

surroundings, as well as architectural expression subor-

dinated to the currently existing spatial and symbolic hi-

erarchy of the existing museum complex. It is also a form

that is open to the city through the location of a glazed

long lobby along Towarowa Street [8]. The concept for

expansion of the most important museums in Poland is

particularly important to me. First, because of my person-

al involvement in its creation, and second, because of its

role as a symbolic buckle that ties together the studio’s

and my achievements over the past 15 years. I did not no-

tice this regularity at rst, but that’s exactly how many

years separated the creation of a new project for the War-

saw Rising Museum from the moment that was a kind of

turning point on my professional path – in 2003, together

with Jarosław Kłaput and Dariusz Kunowski, we co-cre-

ated the concept and began works on the core exhibition

at the Museum under construction at the time. Together

with the Nizio Design International team, I designed and

then completed the exhibition. At the time, it was felt that

a museum revolution was taking place inside the capital’s

former tramway power plant on Przyokopowa Street,

which had become the Museum’s seat. It is not much of

an exaggeration to say that we pioneered multimedia and

interactive, narrative exhibitions and displays. As it soon

turned out, the project was innovative on many levels. The

exhibition provided the impetus for a change in thinking

about the design and implementation of museum exhibi-

tions in Poland. For many years, it set the highest quality

standards in the eld and raised the bar for technological

and multimedia solutions. It so happened that years later

I returned to designing for the Warsaw Rising Museum.

I knew the Museum very well. I was familiar with the ex-

hibition spaces and the environment of the museum fa-

cilities. Probably also for this reason, it was with some

ease that my team and I were able to work out in detail

the architectural and urban design concept, which, as the

jury ruled, “fullled to the greatest extent the design goals

established in the competition” [8].

Having observed the Museum’s successful activities

over the years, having visited it both on business and pri-

vately on the occasion of various events, I was aware of

the challenges it may face. The insucient functionality

of certain urban and architectural solutions seemed key

to me. Over the years of operation, the needs of the in-

stitution, the habits of visitors, and the environment of

the museum buildings themselves have changed. In close

proximity, a new city has basically sprung up – modern

housing developments, oce buildings and a subway sta-

tion. There fore, from our perspective, two issues were im-

portant: in the ideological sphere – to strongly emphasize

the relationship between the past and the present, and in

the purely practical sphere, that of architecture and urban

planning – to improve the functionality of the entrance area

of the Museum from Towarowa Street. We had worked on

the concept, which was selected by the jury from among

the 11 other ones submitted for the competition, for sev-

eral months. The design involves the creation of a new

spacious and comfortable entrance area to the Museum.

This zone, which we felt the Museum lacked, is to be-

come its calling card, it is to open the space towards the

city and this new environment that has evolved around the

Museum. The design envisages new development of the

premises (Fig. 9), related to changes in the organization

of visitor trac, as well as the creation of an additional

Fig. 9. The Warsaw Rising Museum – concept for the expansion and modernisation, visualisation of the project

(source: Nizio Design International)

Il. 9. Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego – projekt rozbudowy i modernizacji, wizualizacja koncepcji

(źródło: Nizio Design International)

From imagination to space. Architecture and museum exhibition as a dialogue and interaction 123

storage area, necessary for the continued ecient and

smooth operation of the facility.

In designing the expansion of the edice, we distin-

guished, so to speak, two zones, the “historical” one, con-

nected with the core exhibition and the existing building,

and the new one, which is to become a symbol of moder-

nity (Fig. 10). By locating the main entrance on the side

of the main thoroughfare, we were able to create an ex-

pansive space conducive to education, recreation, as well

as reection on the content related to the Warsaw Rising.

The main element of the new entrance area will be a pavil-

ion, light in form, located on the side of Towarowa Street,

in which we have emphasized three functional cores such

as a “welcome centre”, educational premises and a restau-

rant. In addition to the entrance area, the new pavilion is

to include a hall that can accommodate up to 300 people,

as well as an exit down to the underground oor which

serves as a link to the existing building [9]. The space is

welcoming, light, with bright colours, glazing and lush

vegetation reigning supreme. I am pleased that the en-

trance area of the Museum is to undergo a major metamor-

phosis, part of which is a design created in my studio. As

the director of the Warsaw Rising Museum announced, in

addition to the designed pavilion […] bays will be built so

that buses and cabs can stop and drop o tours. We also

want the visitors to be able to walk through the greenery

from the nearby subway station to the museum [9].

Summary

In 2013, in an interview with Jolanta Ruszkiewicz of

the Magazif website, I declared: I am interested in so-

cially and culturally engaged projects. In the work of an

architect, it is not only the structure that is important to

me, but the context, the functions of the place. Working on

public buildings provides many opportunities and satisfac-

tion. With such projects, the analyses I conduct with his-

torians and sociologists are important [10]. In a nutshell,

this is what the philosophy of my work on each project

boils down to, immersed in a series of contexts, forces

and vectors that constitute it. Concern for the highest sub-

stantive quality, respect for the context of the place, time

and history to which the designed space/building relates,

a special commitment to dependability, stable form, beauty

and precision, detail, material, form and message are for

me indispensable components of daily conceptual, design

and implementation work. After all, I would like my work

and that of my studio team to be perceived as Monika Ko-

morowska writes: In the more and more technologically

advanced world where we often feel more and more up-

rooted and homeless, the authoring architecture of Nizio

Design International seems to enable creation of the feel-

ing of belonging and nd the identity of the place [3, p. 21].

Translated by

Biuro Tłumaczeń ATT

Fig. 10. The Warsaw Rising

Museum – concept for

the expansion and modernisation,

visualisation of the interior

(source: Nizio Design International)

Il. 10. Muzeum Powstania

Warszawskiego – projekt

rozbudowy i modernizacji,

wizualizacja wnętrza

(źródło: Nizio Design International)

References

[1] Kloc O., Nizio M., Opowieść o księdzu Jerzym. Projekt Muzeum

księdza Jerzego Popiełuszki w Okopach, “Architektura i Biznes”

2021, 23 June, https://www.architekturaibiznes.pl/muzeum-ksiedza

-popieluszki-w-okopach,8124.html [accessed: 20.06.2022].

[2] Zumthor P., Thinking Architecture, Birkhäuser, Basel 1998.

[3] Komorowska M., Architektura pomiędzy wymiarami, “Arché” 2011,

nr 1(21), 14–21.

[4] Chillida E., Writings, La Fábrica, Madrid 2019.

[5]

Serra R., Writings/Interviews, University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1994.

[6]

Łoza P., To będzie podróż w poszukiwaniu prawdy. Rozmowa z M. Ni-

zio, “Nasze Słowo” 2022, nr 2, 9.01.2022, https://nasze-slowo.pl/to-

dzie-podroz-w-poszukiwaniu-prawdy/ [accessed: 30.05.2022].

[7] Rigamonti M., Nie chcę nikogo osaczać (wywiad z Mirosławem

Ni zio), “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna” 2018, 14 December, https://edgp.

124 Mirosław Nizio

Abstract

From imagination to space. Architecture and museum exhibition as a dialogue and interaction

The article presents the design philosophy of Mirosław Nizio, architect and sculptor, creator of many realised and conceptual museum projects,

founder and owner of the Nizio Design International studio. The author of the paper pays particular attention to the idea of dialogue, to which he has

subordinated all his projects, and which he understands in a multifaceted way as: a personal dialogue with the audience through architecture, a dis-

cussion between architecture and landscape, as well as an inner monologue touching on his personal feelings and experiences. The text presents Nizio

Design International’s best-known projects, such as the Mausoleum of the Martyrdom of Polish Villages in Michniów, The Ulma Family Museum of

Poles Saving Jews in World War II in Markowa or The Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko Museum in Okopy.

Key words: contemporary architecture, architectural design, architecture of dialogue, museum

Streszczenie

Od wyobraźni do przestrzeni. Architektura i ekspozycja muzealna jako dialog i interakcja

W artykule przedstawiono lozoę projektowania Mirosława Nizio, architekta i rzeźbiarza, twórcy wielu zrealizowanych i koncepcyjnych pro-

jektów muzeów, a przy tym założyciela i właściciela pracowni Nizio Design International. Autor artykułu zwraca szczególną uwagę na ideę dialogu,

której podporządkował wszystkie swoje projekty, a którą rozumie wielowątkowo jako osobistą rozmowę z odbiorcami za pośrednictwem architektu-

ry, dyskusję architektury z krajobrazem, a także wewnętrzny monolog dotykający jego własnych przeżyć i doświadczeń. W tekście zaprezentowano

najbardziej znane projekty Nizio Design International, takie jak Mauzoleum Martyrologii Wsi Polskich w Michniowie, Muzeum Polaków Ratujących

Żydów podczas II wojny światowej im. Rodziny Ulmów w Markowej, czy Muzeum Bł. Ks. Jerzego Popiełuszki w Okopach.

Słowa kluczowe: architektura współczesna, projektowanie architektoniczne, architektura dialogu, muzeum

gazetaprawna.pl/e-wydanie/56127,14-grudnia-2018/66691,Dzien-

nik-Gazeta-Prawna/684888,Nie-chce-nikogo-osaczac.html [acces-

sed: 20.06.2022].

[8] Wyniki konkursu. Informacja o wynikach rozstrzygnięcia konkursu

ar chitektoniczno-urbanistycznego na rozbudowę i modernizację Mu -

zeum Powstania Warszawskiego, https://konkurs-mpw.sarp.warszawa.

pl/

wyniki-konkursu/ [accessed: 20.06.2022].

[9]

Przekazanie działki przybliża rozbudowę Muzeum Powstania Warszaw

skiego. Będą duże zmiany, https://tvn24.pl/tvnwarszawa/najnowsze/

warszawa-miasto-przekazalo-muzeum-powstania-warszawskiego

-dzialke-pod-rozbudowe-5488126 [accessed: 23.06.2022].

[10] Ruszkiewicz J., Nizio M., Mirosław Nizio: „Tworzymy przecież

nie dla samej sztuki, ale przede wszystkim dla ludzi…”, “Magazif.

Inspirujący Design i Wnętrza” 2013, 25 February, https://magazif.

com/ludzie/tworzymy-przede-wszystkim-dla-ludzi-miroslaw-nizio

-wywiad/ [accessed: 21.06.2022].