Industrial heritage and art. Contemporary adaptations of post-industrial architecture in the selected areas of Upper Silesia and Dąbrowa Coal Basin

Przemysław Gawęda, Tomasz Wagner, Sebastian Wróblewski, Martina Peřinková

doi:10.37190/arc230405

Abstract

The main aim of the present paper is to present the latest architectural design achievements in the field of the adaptations of the post-industrial heritage in two neighbouring and culturally closely linked regions: Upper Silesia (Śląsk) and Dąbrowa Coal Basin (Zagłębie) for the new functions and to validate the potential of use of the unique combination of industrial architecture and art. The research focuses on the architecture which was designed for the local industry from the period: from the late 19th century to the 1st half of the 20th century modernism and adaptations and renovations of that industrial architecture for new functions associated with art: museums, art centres, art and exhibition galleries. That architectural heritage with its unique spatial, light and detail solutions and even industrial equipment preserved in situ, used both as a background and main exhibition, serve especially as an interesting space for the modern and contemporary art exhibitions and art activities. This paper presents similarities and differences in analyzed architectural adaptations of the post industrial heritage in Czech and Polish regions.

Keywords:
article
architecture
industrial
heritage
adaptation
art

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Przemysław Gawęda*, Tomasz Wagner**, Sebastian Wróblewski***,

Martina Peřinková****

Industrial heritage and art.

Contemporary adaptations of post-industrial architecture

in the selected areas of Upper Silesia and Dąbrowa Coal Basin

Introduction

The primary scope of this study is concerned with ar-

chitectural achievements related to the adaptation and re-

development design of post-industrial heritage in the Up-

per Silesian Coal Basin. In an era of concern for natural

resources, shrinking land reserves in the urban structure

and increasing social awareness, decisions are being taken

more and more often to adapt buildings for the benet of

preserving cultural heritage. This encourages the rescue

of single elements perpetuating cultural identity at the lo-

cal level such as places associated with tradition and the

history of material culture, “witnesses to history”, nomen-

clature, etc. There is an apparent drive to preserve historic

buildings, complexes of buildings or landscape elements,

especially post-industrial ones. This is the result of a con-

sensus between the managers of the historic fabric and the

heritage conservation community. Understood as a cultur-

al asset, post-industrial sites can be preserved for future

generations when they are safeguarded, adapted and their

functional programmes and links to their surroundings re-

integrate them into the life of the city.

The arts are integrated into the museum and tempo-

rary art activities. The universal language of the message

is a tool to focus public interest, encourage visits to the

revitalised buildings and create a brand and prestige for

the place. These eorts require a personalised approach,

without compromising the authenticity and perception of

the historic fabric. Since the preparation of the exhibition

by the Capitoline Museums in the Centrale Montemartini

(the rst public power station) in via Ostiense in Rome

(1997 – the rst Machine and Gods exhibition, since 2005

a permanent exhibition [1]), the marriage of art and indu 

stry has contributed to a new exhibition canon. The con-

trasting juxtaposition of so-called high art and the aes-

thetics of technical equipment within a single exhibition

broadened the audience. Since then, the heritage of the

industrial era has increasingly become the backdrop for

artistic and exhibition activities, creating a synergy of art,

especially contemporary art and industrial legacy. These

processes can be seen in the case of the adaptation of

post-industrial heritage in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin.

The aim of this article is to show, using selected examples,

the ways in which adaptations of post-industrial buildings

for exhibition purposes are carried out. The summary also

highlights similarities and dierences in the approach to

the revitalisation of such facilities on post-mining sites in

today’s southern Poland and eastern Czech Republic.

Territorial range of the research

For the denition of the research area, the links between

the territories of the present-day central and south-western

parts of the Silesian Voivodeship and the northern part of

the MoravianSilesian Region in the Czech Republic are

not coincidental. Speeches and studies by many scholars,

e.g. Mojmír Kyselka [2], emphasise the links between the

northern part of the KarniovskoOpava Silesia and the

DOI: 10.37190/arc230405

Published in open access. CC BY NC ND license

* ORCID: 0000000196294266, Faculty of Architecture, Si le 

sian University of Technology, Poland, email: pgaweda@polsl.pl

** ORCID: 0000000263374427, Faculty of Architecture, Sile

sian University of Technology, Poland.

***

ORCID: 0000000225748395, Faculty of Architecture, Wro 

cław University of Science and Technology, Poland.

**** ORCID: 000000021005899X, Faculty of Civil Engi neer

ing, Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic.

50 Przemysław Gawęda, Tomasz Wagner, Sebastian Wróblewski, Martina Peřinková

band of industrial districts that form part of the Silesian

Voivodeship. The Dąbrowa Coal Basin, the Upper Silesian

Industrial District (erroneously identied with the Upper

Sile sian Conurbation), the Rybnik Industrial District (Po-

land) and the northern part of the MoravianSilesian Re-

gion (Czech Republic) are areas shaped by the dominance

of mining and heavy industry in the 19

and 20

centuries.

Despite their dierent political histories in many respects,

these areas share a common historical fate and transfor-

mation following the decline of the industry after 1989.

In determining the territorial extent of the research car-

ried out, the question of the historical boundary of Upper

Silesia is crucial

. The Dąbrowa Coal Basin was formed in

the 19

century, until the 15

century most of its territory

was part of Silesia. After the Third Partition of Po land, it

belonged to Prussia and then was part of the King dom of

Poland.

The northern part of KarniovOpava Silesia with Ostra-

va historically belonged to or was connected with Upper

Silesia. Ostrava is an example of this. Rightbank Ostrava

was called Vendian (Slavic) Ostrava or Polish Ostrava in

the 14

and 15

centuries, as opposed to the part on the

left bank of the Ostravica River, referred to as German or

Moravian Ostrava and constituting the conventional south-

ern border of Upper Silesia. From 1714, Polish Ostra va was

owned by the Wilczek family, whose estates extended,

among others, to the Gliwice area.

An important element connecting these territories was

the railway network. In 1856, the “Emperor Ferdinand’s

Northern Railway” company built a railway line leading

from Vienna via Ostrava to Mysłowice, Sosnowiec and

Dąbrowa Górnicza, and then connected to the Warsaw–

Vienna Railway. A transport route was thus created across

the borders of the Habsburg Monarchy, Prussia and the

Russian Partition, connecting the areas discussed in the

article on a northsouth axis. Until the end of World War I,

the Zagłębie region was part of the Russian Partition, and

Upper Silesia was under the German Empire, with the

exception of its southern part known as KarniówOpava

Silesia (with its centre in Ostrava), which belonged to

AustriaHungary.

As a result of the political arrangement after World

War II, the Zagłębie and Upper Silesia found themselves

within common administrative boundaries. Part of Cieszyn

Silesia has belonged to the Czech Republic since the Trea-

ty of Versailles and is now part of the Moravian-Silesian

Region.

Research methods

The identication of examples of adaptation of indus-

trial buildings was possible by obtaining data on selected

facilities. Databases and the Directory of Museums in Po-

land [3] were used for this purpose. Sources of informa-

tion included architectural designs, adaptations, interviews

The term Upper Silesia (Horní Slezsko in Czech), rst used in

the 15

century, a historically much larger area, as it also included the

estates of the Piast domain of Opole.

with authors, press publications and study visits. The col-

lected data were grouped and analysed (location, manner

and extent of development, location of the exhibition,

scale of the exhibition and nature of the exhibition space).

Due to the range of the issue, which is the adaptation

of post-industrial architecture, several limitations were

adopted. Firstly, cubic structures associated with the func-

tioning of the industry, including the above-ground infra-

structure of former mines as the most complex and char-

acteristic structures related to the identity of the region,

were included in the research and discussed. Secondly,

a key element of the research was to present the structures

related to the broadly perceived presentation and promo-

tion of art, dissemination of culture and, through it, the

original historic architectural fabric and post-industrial in-

frastructure. In the Silesian Voivodeship alone, the indus-

trial heritage presented as part of the Industriada festival

and linked to the Industrial Monuments Route includes

several dozen sites and complexes with a diverse prima-

ry function. Apart from mines, these include breweries,

housing estates, printing houses, steel mills and factories,

textile factories, slaughterhouses, re stations. Hence the

need to identify sites linked not only to the genius loci of

the locality, but of the entire region. In sum, seven exam-

ples of revitalisation were selected for analysis. They are

discussed later in the article in the following order: The

Artistic Casting Branch of the Museum in Gliwice (Od

dział Odlewnictwa Artystycznego Muzeum w Gliwicach),

the Silesian Museum (Muzeum Śląskie) in Katowice, the

Elek trownia Contemporary Art Gallery (Galeria Sztuki

Współ czesnej Elektrownia) in Czeladź, the Tichauer Art

Gallery in Tychy, Dolní Oblast Vítkovice and the Plato

Contemporary Art Gallery in Ostrava, as well as the Tra-

dition Park (Park Tradycji) in Siemianowice Śląskie.

Genesis of the post-industrial heritage

of studied areas

The eastern part of Upper Silesia, the Dąbrowa Coal

Basin and KaniówOpawa Silesia became signicant cen-

tres of the mining industry in the 19

century. The deve-

lop ment of metallurgy and coal mining contributed to the

cultural specicity of all areas. This was facilitated by the

inux of people associated with the increase in employ-

ment in the new workplaces. The mining industry (silver

and lead ores) and the nucleus of metallurgy had been

developing in the area since the Middle Ages. It was not

until the end of the 18

century that coal deposits were

discovered, which enabled the development of the metal-

lurgical industry, coking and industrial mining. The rst

of the mines in Upper Silesia was the Queen Louise Mine

in Zabrze, founded in 1791, and in the Zagłębie area, the

Reden Mine, named after Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von

Reden, was established ve years later in Dąbrowa Gór-

nicza [4]. The Opole Region (Regierungsbezirk Oppeln),

established in 1815 within Prussia and encompassing the

historic area of Upper Silesia, began to grow thanks to

the development of the Upper Silesian Industrial District

(Oberschlesische Industriebezirk) on its eastern border.

At the same time, on the Russian side of the border, in

 Contemporaryadaptationsofpost-industrialarchitectureintheselectedareasofUpperSilesiaandDąbrowaCoalBasin 51

the territory of the Congress Kingdom, the Central Min-

ing Directorate was active. In 1848, the railway line con-

necting Warsaw with Sosnowiec (Warsaw–Vienna Rail-

way) was completed. Between 1859 and 1862 [5] it was

connected to the Prussian railway network, and in 1856

Ostrava was incorporated into the transport system. In the

and early 20

centuries, the mining industry devel-

oped continuously, and in the interwar period and after

World War II, the Upper Silesian Industrial District be-

came one of the most important industrial centres in Po-

land. In the People’s Republic of Poland, it was associat-

ed with the state’s industrial policy and was the centre of

heavy industry. With the political breakthrough of 1989,

a dicult restructuring of industry began, some factories

went bankrupt and the architectural industrial heritage,

which was one of the distinctive features of the region,

met a dierent fate. As a result of the processes, the abili-

ty to maintain the technological infrastructure, which also

included industrial architecture, was lost. It was only the

presence of Poland and the Czech Republic in the Europe-

an Union that created the unique opportunity to save the

industrial heritage for future generations

Selected facilities – discussion of examples

Artistic Casting Department

oftheMuseuminGliwice

One of the rst examples of the revitalisation of post

industrial facilities in Poland was the adaptation of the

Gliwice Coal Mine (KWK). The project involved a group

of several facilities. The Gliwice and ÖhringenSośnica

mines were established relatively late, in 1910 and 1913.

Due to the exhaustion of deposits, the eastern eld of the

Sośnica mine was decommissioned in 1997 and the Gli-

wice mine two years later [6]. In 1999, the Gliwice curia

commissioned the Mexem design oce to create a con-

cept for the adaptation of the buildings for the needs of

the College of Humanities and the Catholic High School.

The adaptation assumed the use of the original historic

substance and the adaptation of the mine management

building to the aesthetics of the rest of the complex. The

project included the conversion of the engine room into

a museum with a display of the original machinery. For

nancial reasons, the rst project was not realised

. In

2003 the Municipal Oce of Gliwice prepared an action

plan for the revitalisation of the area called “Nowe Gli-

wice”, which assumed economic and social revitalisation,

including increasing the tourist potential of the post-min-

ing areas. The project received a grant from the PHARE

fund [7].

Several buildings remain from the Gliwice coal mine,

which are important elements of the city’s skyline. The

Design concept: Adaptationofpost-industrialbuildingsoftheGli-

wicecoalminefortheneedsoftheFacultyofTheologyandaCatholic

secondary school – B.P. Mexem, Gliwice 1999, NoweGliwice–Trans-

formation of post-industrial areas into an enterprise zone – B.P. Mexem

(A. Nagulewicz, R. Żabińska, D. FedelińskaKowalska, I. Stelmach,

T. Wag ner, K. Zieńć, G. Ziębik), Gliwice 2004.

buildings of the management board, the “villa” and the

station have been preserved, as well as the machine- and

the guildhall – a building designed on the plan of a rect-

angle measuring 82 × 36 m with a tower 45 m high. The

symmetrical body of the building, covered with a steep

roof, was divided, both structurally and functionally, into

three parts: the central one with a twostorey hall and

tower, and the two side wings that once housed the bath -

house with a high chain cloakroom and, on the oppo-

site side, a huge production hall. Teaching and lecture

rooms, a library, auditoriums and a buet were designed

in the former guildhall, and the ground oor was given

a 30metrelong open space (Fig. 1). The lobby surround-

ing the hall provided a neutral backdrop for temporary

art exhibitions. In the side wings, in order to preserve

the suggestion of the original space, a decision was made

to separate the structure of the newly designed lecture

theatres from the old walls of the two halls. Located at

a considerable height above the oor, arcade windows

illuminated the rooms around the auditoriums, and open

communication galleries were also designed [8]. The hall

was adapted for the purposes of a museum exhibition

entitled “From the Old Steelworks to the Gliwice Tech-

nical Equipment Works”, designed by Tadeusz Pfützner

of the Faculty of Architecture at the Silesian University

of Technology.

The Artistic Casting Division was relocated in 2010 to

the former machine hall, the largest of the surviving build-

ings of the former Gliwice coal mine. The structure of the

machine hall consisted of a threestorey oce part with

a usable attic and three halls connected in an amphilade.

A void was left along the south wall from the ground oor

to the attic, which made it possible to expose the orig-

inal ceramics and leave a “trace” of the original height

(Fig. 2). The new exhibition entitled “Rightly famous to-

day Gliwice…” was prepared by Studio Nizio Design In-

ternational from Warsaw. The main part of the exhibition

arrangement consists of museum showcases alluding in

shape to the smelter furnaces [9].

SilesianMuseuminKatowice

The Silesian Museum was established by a resolution

of the Silesian Parliament of 23 January 1929 [10] and op-

erated – despite the lack of permanent headquarters – until

the outbreak of World War II. The museum building was

completed in 1939, but it was not ocially opened, and

after the German army entered Katowice, it was demol-

ished to its foundations [11].

Despite attempts and eorts to acquire new housing,

the breakthrough came only at the beginning of the 2000s,

when the Committee for the Construction of a New Build-

ing for the Silesian Museum in Katowice began its activ-

ities. The transfer of the former Katowice mine site for

the investment accelerated the execution of the design

documentation. The competition for the design of the new

Silesian Museum building was won by Riegler Riewe Ar-

chitekten in Graz.

The proposal of the Austrian studio referred to the

industrial history of Silesia and the original function of

52 Przemysław Gawęda, Tomasz Wagner, Sebastian Wróblewski, Martina Peřinková

Fig. 1. Nowe Gliwice

– enterprise development zone

of the Gliwice coal mine:

A – view of the former guildand

machine hall building,

B – temporary exhibition in the

attic of the machine hall building,

C – temporary exposition in

the hall of the first floor of

the guildhall building

(designed by BP Mexem

2003–2004, photo by T. Wagner)

Il. 1. Nowe Gliwice

– strefa rozwoju przedsiębiorczości

KWK Gliwice:

A – widok budynku dawnej

cechowni i maszynowni,

B – czasowa ekspozycja na

poddaszu budynku maszynowni,

C – czasowa ekspozycja w holu

pierwszego piętra budynku

cechowni

(proj. BP Mexem, 2003–2004,

fot. T. Wagner)

Fig. 2. New Gliwice

– Artistic Foundry Branch

of the Museum in Gliwice:

A – fragment of a photographic

exhibition creating an illusion

of the foundry interior,

B – fragment of the permanent

exhibition of foundry art,

C – entrance area with a counter

(photo by T. Wagner)

Il. 2. Nowe Gliwice

– Oddział Odlewnictwa

Artystycznego Muzeum

w Gliwicach:

A – fragment ekspozycji

fotograficznej tworzącej

iluzję wnętrza huty,

B – fragment stałej ekspozycji

sztuki odlewniczej,

C – strefa wejściowa z ladą

(fot. T. Wagner)

 Contemporaryadaptationsofpost-industrialarchitectureintheselectedareasofUpperSilesiaandDąbrowaCoalBasin 53

the post-mining area. It assumed minimal interference in

the post-industrial landscape, and the designed complex

was mostly located underground. On the outside, the “glass”

masses of the buildings and cuboidal skylights, which

illuminate the underground exhibitions and create a dia-

logue with the historic volumes, are visible. This solution

has made the Silesian Museum one of the most original

museum buildings in Europe. It is an interdisciplinary

space consisting of an auditorium, library, educational and

conference rooms, car parks and a 12.5 m high exhibition

space (central hall). The building complex includes the

former machine hall building of the “Warsaw” shaft. The

mining past of the Silesian Museum site is evidenced by

the hoist tower of the mine shaft. The idea was to preserve

the cultural heritage of Upper Silesia by adapting two his-

toric buildings together with the conservation of historic

industrial machinery (Fig. 3).

The adapted post-industrial space at the Silesian Muse-

um creates a synergy of post-industrial architecture with

painting, photography, sculpture, graphics and installa-

tions by artists. The spaces in the new underground part of

the museum provide an austere, minimalist backdrop for

the permanent and temporary exhibitions (Fig. 4).

The permanent exhibitions in the museum’s new build-

ing feature 1,400 exhibits in six thematic galleries, cov-

ering Polish art from 1800–1945 and from 1945 to the

present, Polish theatrical and lm scenography, Silesian

non-professional art and Silesian sacred art, as well as an

exhibition on the history of Upper Silesia.

ElektrowniaContemporaryArtGallery

–Czeladź

The Contemporary Art Gallery Elektrownia in Czeladź

is one of the best adaptations of a post-industrial building

in the Dąbrowa Coal Basin. At present, the complex of the

former power station supplying the Saturn mine is part of

a museum established in Czeladź in 2009 that includes the

buildings of the former mine [12].

Several buildings related to the activities of the mine

have been preserved on the site. The building of the power

station serving the mine was constructed between 1902

and 1908, designed by Polish architect Jozef Pius Dzie-

koński (1844–1927). In 2005, the Association of Cultural

Initiatives initiated the establishment of the Elektrownia

Gallery of Contemporary Art. In 2010 the building was

entered on the list of the Silesian Voivodeship’s Industrial

Monuments Route.

After adaptation work, the power station retained its ori 

ginal shape, consisting of a main hall set on a rectan gular

plan, with an additional nave and a risalitically pro truding

side wing added to the east. The eect of the picturesque-

ness of the mass was emphasised by Dziekoński’s high

tower with blanks and shooting holes, dressed in a “castel-

lated style”. The hall has original equipment, namely a gen-

erator constructed by Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon

Schweiz

in 1903 [12], a compressor, inverters, a control panel and

a crane. As part of the restoration work, the original detail

elements were retained. The brick façades were cleaned

Fig. 3. Silesian Museum

in Katowice:

A – panorama of the city

with inactive buildings of

the Katowice coal mine

(state in 2009),

B – view of the park above

the underground part of

the Silesian Museum

(photo by T. Wagner)

Il. 3. Muzeum Śląskie

w Katowicach:

A – panorama Katowic

z nieczynnymi obiektami KWK

Katowice – stan w roku 2009,

B – park nad podziemną częścią

Muzeum Śląskiego

(fot. T. Wagner)

54 Przemysław Gawęda, Tomasz Wagner, Sebastian Wróblewski, Martina Peřinková

and the green woodwork, typical of the 19

century, was

restored. A new element of the volume is a contemporary,

simple block housing a staircase and a lift. The building

accommodates exhibition areas on the mezzanine, ground

oor and basement levels. Thanks to the glazing, the build-

ing is illuminated. On the one hand, this is an advantageous

element for the display of certain forms of contemporary

art, but on the other hand, it can be an obstacle in the case

of historic buildings or art directed by light.

The preserved machines, which are part of the equip-

ment, dictate the scenario of the exhibitions and limit

the possibility of introducing an audience for temporary

events, readings and lectures [13]. The in situ preservation

of the machinery and control panel in such excellent con-

dition has allowed for an eect similar to that achieved

at Centrale Montemartini – a contrast between technology

and art presented in the vicinity of technical equipment. In

the basement and mezzanine oors, the layout of the walls

allows for a traditional exhibition scheme (Fig. 5).

TichauerArtGallery–Tychy

When considering the degree of preservation of the orig-

inal interior architectural relics, the Tichauer Art Gallery is

one of the more interesting developments. The gallery is part

of the former brewhouse of the

Civic Brewery in Tychy. The

complex of buildings was built in 1895 [14], although some

of the surviving buildings, such as the keg wash [15] and

the hammer house [16], date from a later period. The build-

Fig. 4. Silesian Museum

in Katowice:

A – part of the building interiors

with Deni Karavan’s exhibition,

B – part of the building interiors

with a temporary exposition,

C – part of the interiors in

the KWK Katowice with

the temporary exhibition

“Masculine Thing” in 2018

(photo by T. Wagner)

Il. 4. Muzeum Śląskie

w Katowicach:

A – fragment wnętrz części

budynku z ekspozycją

Deni Karavana,

B – fragment wnętrz budynku

z czasową ekspozycją,

C – fragment wnętrz KWK

Katowice z wystawą czasową

„Męska Rzecz” w roku 2018

(fot. T. Wagner)

ings were adapted to modern needs in two phases. Between

2007 and 2013, the brewery facility – a malt house with dry-

ing room – was adapted into a technology park, and between

2014 and 2020 [17], thanks to the foundation established

in 2012, Tyska Foundation for the Promotion of Culture

and Tourism “Civic Brewery”, the former brewhouse build-

ing was adapted for rooms related to the exhibition of

art works. The revitalisation measures covered the entire

complex. A number of solutions related to the exhibition

of technological relics and machinery in the park were

planned. In the case of the Tychy brewhouse building,

analogies to the Czeladź power plant can be seen. The

annexes were rebuilt, and oce and conference rooms

were introduced. In the main exhibition hall, the original

structural elements were retained. The nishing elements

– terracotta tiles, glazed bricks and other elements – were

retained without re sto rations, with damage and deteriora-

tion exposed [17] (Fig. 6). The aesthetic eect of the archi-

tectural palimpsest creates a com peting element with the

art on display, so it must be shown against a more subdued

background in the form of tem porary panels (previous

temporary exhibitions have used monochrome panels and

pedestals, primarily black – Be ksiń ski and white – Ołbińs-

ki/Sętowski). In the other rooms intended for exhibition

purposes, the new solutions of the adapted interiors, as in

Czeladź, represent the “classical” model. Grey industrial

concrete oors and walls covered with white paint coat-

ings create a neutral background allowing a “mobile” exhi-

bition with articial lighting.

 Contemporaryadaptationsofpost-industrialarchitectureintheselectedareasofUpperSilesiaandDąbrowaCoalBasin 55

Fig. 5. Gallery of contemporary

art Elektrownia – Czeladź:

A – view of the revitalised

building with the added staircase,

B – interior of the former turbine

hall with temporary exhibition

(photo by S. Wróblewski, 2022)

Il. 5. Galeria Sztuki

Współczesnej Elektrownia

w Czeladzi:

A – zrewitalizowany obiekt

z dobudowaną klatką schodową,

B – wnętrze dawnej hali turbin

z ekspozycją czasową

(fot. S. Wróblewski, 2022)

Fig. 6. Tichauer Art Gallery

in Tychy, adaptation of

the buildings of the

“Civic Brewery”:

A – exhibition against

the background of the restored

walls of the brewery interior,

B – Tichauer Art Gallery,

view from outside,

C – complex of adapted buildings

(photo by S. Wróblewski, 2022).

Il. 6. Galeria sztuki Tichauer Art

Gallery w Tychach,

adaptacja obiektów

„Browaru Obywatelskiego”:

A – ekspozycja na tle poddanych

konserwacji ścian

wnętrza browaru,

B – Tichauer Art Gallery

– widok z zewnątrz,

C – kompleks adaptowanych

obiektów

(fot. S. Wróblewski, 2022)

56 Przemysław Gawęda, Tomasz Wagner, Sebastian Wróblewski, Martina Peřinková

DolníOblastVítkovice

–Ostrava

The Dolní Vítkovice complex (located within the ad-

ministrative borders of Ostrava) is the largest group of

postindustrial architecture in the Czech Republic, meta-

phorically known as the Iron City or Ostrava’s Hradčany.

It includes a former steelwork, a coking plant and a mine.

Since 2008, the area has been listed as a European cultural

heritage site – Dolní Oblast Vítkovice (DOV).

The origins of Dolní Vítkovice are linked to the found-

ing of the ironworks by Archbishop Rudolf Habsburg in

the late 1820s [18]. The development of the works is linked

to the gure of Salomon Mayer Rothschild (1774–1855)

[19]. They created a selfsucient metallurgical complex.

Conveyor belts, loading facilities and transport platforms

provided the link between the various parts of production,

and their silhouette with shafts and blast furnace (now

called Bolt Tower) is still a “postindustrial sculpture” and

an important part of the landscape of Ostrava.

Coal mining ceased here in 1991, the blast furnace was

extinguished in 1998 and the area was restructured in the

following years. The owner of the works, Jan Svetlik, began

eorts to raise funds to revitalise the complex. Today, it is

a multi-purpose complex of facilities combining museum,

entertainment and educational functions. One of the most

important facilities is the former wet gas tank known as the

“Gong”. It was built between 1922 and 1924 as a riveted

structure of armoured steel plates in the form of a cylin

der with a volume of 50,000 m

. As part of the 2011–2012

reconstruction, the cylinder was raised, stabilised and the

structure reinforced. It consists of two concrete stair tow-

ers, between which an art gallery has been placed on each

oor. Light into the building is provided by four punched

openings. The building oers the possibility to organise

exhibitions in the gallery area on the ground oor, in the

great hall or in the gallery on the rst oor (Fig. 7).

Plato Gallery of Contemporary Art

–Ostrava

The Ostrava City Slaughterhouse building dates from

1881 [20]. The slaughterhouse was repeatedly modernised

and extended until the 1960s, when the plant was moved

to a new location. The buildings were used as warehouses

and garages and were modied in a haphazard manner.

Although the abattoir was listed as a historic monument

in 1987 [21], the establishment had been in decline since

the 1990s and some of the buildings were demolished. In

2016, the city bought back the site and began saving the

remains of the historic slaughterhouse [22]. The Ostrava

authorities held a competition for a project to revitalise the

surviving main building. The winner of the competition

was a design by KWK Promes by Robert Konieczny.

The Polish architects adopted the strategy of emphasis-

ing the transformations to which the “shell” of the building

Fig. 7. Dolní Oblast Vítkovice,

Ostrava (DOV):

A – panorama of DOV. Lump of

the furnace gas reservoir,

–

part of the entrance hall

“Gong” with temporary exhibition,

C – modern art gallery

(photo by T. Wagner, 2017)

Il. 7. Dolní Oblast Vítkovice

w Ostrawie (DOV):

A – panorama DOV, bryła

zbiornika gazów piecowych,

B – fragment holu wejściowego

„Gong” z ekspozycją czasową,

C – galeria sztuki nowoczesnej

(fot. T. Wagner, 2017)

 Contemporaryadaptationsofpost-industrialarchitectureintheselectedareasofUpperSilesiaandDąbrowaCoalBasin 57

had been subjected. The clinker walls have been restored,

cavities have been lled in with brick, and new elements

in the place of large punctures have been designed from

new material.

As Robert Konieczny explains: […] large openings

wereoncepunchedinthemassivebrickwalls.Insteadof

llingthemwithbrickandrecreatingtheolddetails,we

decidedtopreservetheseholesandopentheexhibition

halls to the city [22]. The result was a building façade

that combined contrasting materials, such as brick and

concrete fragments that resemble seals in clinker, and act

as largescale revolving doors [23]. The PLATO Gallery

has ve exhibition halls, each of which can function in-

dependently. The gallery space serves as a backdrop for

a variety of cultural events. The entire space is based on

an unambiguous circulation system. The designed foot-

bridge at oor level ensures free communication within

the building. The old elements complement the new with-

out competing with them. Those added in the interior give

the impression of exhibits (Fig. 8).

TraditionPark–SiemianowiceŚląskie

The former Michal mine in Siemianowice Śląskie is

now a centre of cultural life. The history of the mine dates

back to the 1880s. The rst plant was established in 1881

and was named Max [4]. In the following decades, the mine

developed dynamically: the two existing shafts were deep-

ened and modernised, and in 1902 the third shaft “Chris-

tian Kraft” was opened. In 1989 the decision was taken to

decommission the mine, and in 2000 an urbanarchitectur-

al competition was announced for the development of the

former mine site, with the aim of preserving the existing

facilities as much as possible.

One of the buildings to be preserved was the engine hall,

which originally housed a hoisting steam engine inside.

The building is a single-aisle hall building, built of brick.

Its façades were ornamented with brick decorations such

as lisens, arcade friezes and arched windows and doors,

which represent a simplied interpretation of the mainly

Romanesque architecture known as the arcade style (Rund-

bogenstil).

The renovated building, together with the 36metre

tower of the disused mine shaft, is now a multifunctional

cultural centre called the Park of Traditions. It houses an

auditorium, an exhibition space with a permanent exhibi-

tion on the history of mining and metallurgy. The engine

room hall has been divided into oors and new communi-

cation risers have been introduced, and the adjacent green

space has been equipped with an outdoor gym, an “action

and reaction” park and a street workout park. The exhibi-

tion space is the venue for permanent events such as In-

dustria, the Industrial Photography Festival, KARBIDKA

– the AllPolish Festival of Small Theatre Forms, Michal-

kowice Bluesowanie, Chill Time under the Krystyn Shaft,

Historic Vehicle Rallies and fairs (Fig. 9).

Fig. 8. Plato Contemporary Art

Gallery in Ostrava

(designed by KWK Promes):

A – Plato building,

B – open façade panels,

C – a fragment of

the gallery interior

(photo by T. Wagner, 2023)

Il. 8. Galeria Sztuki

Współczesnej Plato w Ostrawie,

KWK Promes:

A – budynek Plato,

B – otwieralne panele elewacji,

C – fragment wnętrza galerii

(fot. T. Wagner, 2023)

58 Przemysław Gawęda, Tomasz Wagner, Sebastian Wróblewski, Martina Peřinková

Conclusions

The research carried out shows that the adaptation of

post-industrial buildings for display purposes in connection

with the historical values of the “site” can increase the sig-

nicance of revitalisation. This is because the conversion

of the open spaces of former machine halls for exhibition

allows not only the forms of the buildings but also their

technological installations to be preserved. The infrastruc-

ture and interior furnishings, such as former machine parks,

technical equipment and various types of installations, cease

to have a utilitarian function and become an ornament of the

interior – a witness to the past, an artefact or a decoration.

They often form the backdrop for permanent and temporary

exhibitions of various forms of ne art, creating interpreta-

tions of historical heritage in relation to the present.

As a result of the conducted analyses, similarities and

dierences were perceived between the Czech and Pol-

ish approaches to the adaptation of historical buildings on

postmining sites, which concern:

– the restoration of machinery in architectural and build-

ing complexes – in Czech realisations more historical ele-

ments are preserved (e.g. Dolni Vítkovice), in Poland the

mentioned relics are complementary elements of contem-

porary interventions (Silesian Museum in Katowice, Muse-

um in Chorzów, Tradition Park in Siemianowice Śląskie),

– colours – the Ostrava solutions are dominated by

monochromatic colours – raw concrete and white, while the

Polish concepts introduce a wider spectrum of colours, in-

cluding black associated with the heritage of the coal and

steel industry (Silesian Museum, Tichauer Art Gallery),

– preservation of architectural relics – both countries use

the method of full restoration of the nest historical ele-

ments, as well as preserving them, in accordance with the

recommendations of the Venice Charter [24] – in a con-

dition that shows the transformations and damage to date,

– the preservation of full machinery as an element of the

main interior narrative (Czeladź) that either dominates or

interacts with the new exhibits is unique in both countries,

– exhibition problems – the threat of contemporary ex-

hibition design/scenography dominating the displayed as

well as the preserved historic structures was noted.

While it is a truism nowadays to emphasise the neces-

sity of protecting post-industrial heritage, the examples of

successful revitalisation analysed amply demonstrate the

adaptation potential of buildings preserved in post-mining

areas. As the process of deindustrialisation has particu-

larly aected cities and regions of industrial origin, the

adaptation of post-industrial buildings in these areas has

a special social signicance, as it contributes to the pres-

ervation and protection of the identity not only of the sites,

but also of the inhabitants.

Fig. 9. Park Tradycji

in Siemianowice Śląskie:

A – machine room building

after adaptation,

B – interior with temporary

exhibition,

C – entrance hall

(photo by T. Wagner, 2018)

Il. 9. Park Tradycji

w Siemianowicach Śląskich:

A – budynek maszynowni

po adaptacji,

B – wnętrze z ekspozycją czasową,

C – hol wejściowy

(fot. T. Wagner, 2018)

 Contemporaryadaptationsofpost-industrialarchitectureintheselectedareasofUpperSilesiaandDąbrowaCoalBasin 59

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References

Abstract

Industrial heritage and art.

Contemporary adaptations of post-industrial architecture in the selected areas of Upper Silesia and Dąbrowa Coal Basin

The main aim of the present paper is to present the latest architectural design achievements in the eld of the adaptations of the postindustrial

heritage in two neighbouring and culturally closely linked regions: Upper Silesia (Śląsk) and Dąbrowa Coal Basin (Zagłębie) for the new functions

and to validate the potential of use of the unique combination of industrial architecture and art. The research focuses on the architecture which was

designed for the local industry from the period: from the late 19

century to the 1st half of the 20

century modernism and adaptations and renova-

tions of that industrial architecture for new functions associated with art: museums, art centres, art and exhibition galleries. That architectural heritage

with its unique spatial, light and detail solutions and even industrial equipment preserved in situ, used both as a background and main exhibition, serve

especially as an interesting space for the modern and contemporary art exhibitions and art activities. This paper presents similarities and dierences

in analyzed architectural adaptations of the post industrial heritage in Czech and Polish regions.

Key words: architecture, industrial, heritage, adaptation, art

Streszczenie

Dziedzictwo przemysłowe i sztuka.

Współczesne adaptacje architektury postindustrialnej w wybranych obszarach Górnego Śląska i Zagłębia Dąbrowskiego

Podstawowym celem autorów artykułu jest prezentacja ostatnich projektów architektonicznych i realizacji w zakresie adaptacji dziedzictwa

postindustrialnego do nowych funkcji oraz ocena możliwości wykorzystania unikalnego połączenia architektury przemysłowej i sztuki na terenie

sąsiadujących i powiązanych kulturowo ze sobą regionów Górnego Śląska i Zagłębia Dąbrowskiego. Badania komparatystyczne i analizy zostały

ograniczone do obiektów i zespołów poprzemysłowych powstałych od końca wieku XIX do 1. połowy XX stulecia, oraz skupiały się wyłącznie

na renowacjach i adaptacjach tejże architektury do nowych funkcji związanych ze sztuką: muzeów, galerii i centrów kultury prezentujących sztukę.

Poprzemysłowe dziedzictwo architektoniczne z jego unikatowymi rozwiązaniami przestrzennymi, możliwościami oświetlenia, wyjątkowym detalem

architektonicznym czy nawet infrastrukturą, na którą składają się maszyny i rozwiązania techniczne służy jako interesująca przestrzeń do prezentacji

współczesnej sztuki i działalności kulturowej. W artykulu zaprezentowano podobieństwa i różnice w zakresie analizowanych adaptacji architekto-

nicznych dziedzictwa postindustrialnego w omawianych regionach w Czechach i Polsce.

Słowa kluczowe: architektura, przemysł, dziedzictwo, adaptacja, sztuka